Popotillo Art

Popotillo Art ( Little Straw Painting)

popotillo art

Popotillo ( little straw ) is a thin, round, compact painted millet's straw. This material is used mainly in Mexico City and, at a slow scale, in other parts of the country. There are a few popotillo art artisans in the country and around the world. In Los Angeles, the popular arts foundation has been working hard to save this art by means of art work-shops and exhibitions thrughout the county.

The Pictorial Popotillo art or Millet's Broom stick is still practice in and around Mexico City by a few dedicated craftsmen. Like the feather workers, popotillo craftsmen construct a mosaic using colored millet's straw pressed down one by one onto a bee wax covered board, creating religious images and scenes from a pre-industrial age. Popular during the 1920's and 30's, this unique craft has appeared in Southern California captivating the interest of people. This popular art is a wonderfull way to introduce people of all ages to the wide posibilities and uses of creative energy.

It is hard to track down the

origins of this ancient Popular art but we believe, from gathered information in Mexico City, that these type material was first used by the Aztecs in Mesoamerica to replace the Quetzal's feathers, the exotic bird extinct by the exagerated used as a decorative material in shields and plums.

Popotillo allegedly was socked with "aguamiel" the juice extracted from the "agave plant" then dyed with natural colors made out of flowers and plants. According to popular believe, this material was used to decorated images and drawings back in the 19 th Century, but was developed in a organized way, in the 1930's and 40's in Mexico City and neighbor communities.

Bonampack ( Popotillo) Virgen de Guadalupe

In the present day, the popular arts foundation, have organized this artistic expression into hands-on workshops and art exhibitions truought the city.

Hands-on workshops are usually run at local libraries or bookstores. This art has not been seen a lot around Los Angeles before, but slowly by slowly people have been hearing more about it. This is an almost extinc art. We are hoping to recover it and bring it to a full explendor again.

According to Donna Mc Menamin in her book "Popular Arts of Mexico (1850-1950)", The origin of straw mosaics has been obscured thrugh time. Some anthropologists believe it has Eastern roots, while others maintain Europeans beginings, and most agree that it is a pre-Hispanic technique in Mexico. Regardless, straw mosaics were highly developed inMexico City by the mid- 1800's.

"Straw vendors supply the popotero with his material from the chaff that grows wild in the plains. After collection, it had to be cleaned to remove leaves,thorns, and dirt. An acid bath follow the cleaning process to improve the dye n of the dyes:"

"Before the work commenced, popoteros dyed an abundant supply of straw for their project with vegetable or aniline dyes"( Mc Menamin, 145). According to the same author, and with insights from the Olay family in Mexico City, the following plants and insects are use to produce a large portion of the colors:

Blue: Lupin Flower

Orange: Yellow Onion Skin

Pink: Sumac Berries

Beige: Canyaigre Dock Root

Yellow: Small Snake Weed

Green: Sargo Bruch

Tan: Rabbit Brush

Olive Green: Red onion Skin

Red-Orange: Alder Bark

White: Cactus Fiver

Brown: Gambel Oak Bark

Red: Chinchilla Insect

"Many mosaics were signed and the maker's marks can be found on the backs,fronts, or within the mosaics themselves. Some frequently encountered signatures are: members of the Olay family; Chucho Barrios, Piro Hernandez, F. Ariza ( who worked for the Olay family between 1946-50), Luis Hormigo, H. Mendoza, Stella Mejia (who worked for the Olay family between 1940-50). Without a doubt, collection of atrw mosaics will contain works from the Olay family. Their works is unsurpassed in technical excellence, originality, and composition. The family ran their own shops, producing straw mosaics and featherwork, in both the northern and southern (Coyoacan) parts of Mexico City from 1924 to 1936. They strongly influenced the evolution of this craft, turning it into an art form, and graciously helped others in improving their techniques. Over the years, the Olay family employed many workers, and several went on to open their own shops." ( Mc Menamin, 146).

The Popular Arts Foundation

Enriching Our Minds While Preserving Our Traditions