We will be weaving this ancient traditional piece from wool and lolly sticks. It can be made using anything that is solid enough to form and maintain a cross and any sort of thread – wool, cotton, chunky wool, paracord, string anything that you have really. A lot of them are made with twigs, you can add embellishments such as tassels and a centre piece.
It is a simple process but can be hard on arthritic fingers and hands, hence we are going for smaller ones. The design can be varied by adding extra sticks and using different materials/colours.
From the internationalfolkart.org:
Ojos de Dios (oh-ho-day-DEE-ohs), “god’s eyes,” are ritual objects made by the Huichol (wet-chol) indigenous people of Mexico. The Huichol symbolism of the god’s eyes is primarily associated with the prayers for their children – prayers for a good long life, protection and to insure abundant crops. God’s eyes are woven on sticks that are crisscrossed. The ends of the sticks represent the basic elements – earth, water, wind, and fire, and the four cardinal directions – north, south, east and west. The centre of the eye symbolizes the power of seeing and understanding things we normally cannot see. Huichol people weave a pupil of black yarn or place a mirrored disk in the centre of the God’s eye where the sticks cross to enhance the vision of the god’s eyes.
We will be supplying 10 lolly sticks to produce 5 pieces with the simple cross base, and enough double knit wool to make them with tassels. You will need scissors and some of your time to join us in making these.
Booking and Terms and conditions
UK Only with Kit ticket includes the Kit and entry to the workshop, please do not book general admission tickets as well
General Admission tickets – these tickets are for people without kits
Donation – always welcome as these help us to keep going.
There is an expectation that people will attend the workshops to participate in the social side of life in a safe environment. In order to try to ensure that kits are available for those that need and use them, we reserve the right to refuse bookings for kits following persistent non attendance.