Lost-Wax Casting
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The lost-wax casting method creates a single unique image, as opposed to one that is cast from a mold of an existing image. Sculptors mold images out of wax comprised of a mixture of beeswax and tree resin. Once the wax is fully molded into the key pieces of the final sculpture, it is placed in cold water to harden. The pieces of wax are joined after being reheated and connected with tubular struts.
Textile Production in the Andes
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Artists have been weaving in the Andean region of South America for thousands of years. They use natural resources such as cotton, camelid hair, and insect and plant dyes to produce striking textiles of complex forms, colors, and designs. The labor-intensive process of creating a textile begins with sheering camelids for the raw hair and picking raw cotton. These fibers are cleaned, combed, and spun into thread, which is dyed with natural colorants and woven together using a variety of techniques and tools.
Camelid Fiber
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Camelid fiber primarily refers to hair from the camelid (Camelidae) family, including llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos. Based on genetic studies, guanacos and vicuñas appear to be the wild counterparts of domesticated llamas and alpacas.
Slit Tapestry
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Slit tapestry is a tapestry weave where the weft threads turn back, creating slits in the direction of the warp threads.
Tapestry Join
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The structural connection between adjacent color areas in tapestry weave accomplished by dovetailing or interlocking.
Featherwork
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Featherwork is the attachment of feathers to woven threads through the use of simple knots or natural adhesives.
Weft
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
On a loom, the weft is inserted over and under the warp during the weaving process. In a finished fabric, the weft is the transverse set of elements.
Warp-Faced
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In weaving, when the warp elements outnumber and hide the weft elements.
Warp Loops
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Open loops created by the turning of the warp yarns at the ends of a fabric.
Bound-Warp Resist Dyed
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A technique in which groups of selected warp yarns have been partially wrapped and bound and then dyed before weaving, in order to create designs in the finished fabric.