Way back in the 17th Century, the Spanish introduced a breed of sheep called the Iberian Churro to the American Southwest. Over time, the Native American Diné people developed a breed now called the Navajo-Churro. From the wool of this new breed the Diné developed weaving techniques original to their people. A couple hundred years after that, mathematician and craftsperson Marilou Schultz applied her singular skills to creating a series of extraordinary tapestries. Here’s more from Ken Shchirriff:
I passed a Navajo weaving with a complex abstract pattern. Suddenly, I realized the pattern was strangely familiar, so I stopped and looked closely. The design turned out to be an image of Intel’s Pentium chip, the start of the long-lived Pentium family.1 The weaver, Marilou Schultz, created the artwork in 1994 using traditional materials and techniques. The rug was commissioned by Intel as a gift to AISES (American Indian Science & Engineering Society) and is currently part of an art exhibition—Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction—focusing on the intersection between abstract art and woven textiles.
…Schultz learned weaving as a child—part of four generations of weavers—carding the wool, spinning it into yarn, and then weaving it. For the Intel project, she worked from a photograph of the die, marking it into 64 sections along each side so the die pattern could be accurately transferred to the weaving. Schultz used the “raised outline” technique, which gives a three-dimensional effect along borders. One of the interesting characteristics of the Pentium from the weaving perspective is its lack of symmetry, unlike traditional rugs. The Pentium weaving was colored with traditional plant dyes; the cream regions are the natural color of the wool from the long-horned Navajo-Churro sheep.2 The yarn in the weaving is a bit finer than the yarn typically used for knitting. Weaving was a slow process, with a day’s work extending the rug by 1″ to 1.5″.
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!