10/13: Refining the Design

To refine the design another community meeting was set up. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss different weaving techniques and get a better understanding of the different patterns that occurs in the existing Zenú caña flecha products. The first prototype was sewed as a spiral a different technique of how the ‘vueltiao’ is made. The different sewing and weaving techniques was discussed, but in terms of production time but also the aesthetic differences in the two different techniques. It was decided to create the new prototype in the ‘vueltiao’ technique.

In plenum different names of patterns was discussed and sketched. The community supplemented each other in order to get the right look of the sketches of the different patterns. It was decided at the meeting that the whole community needed to go to Museo del Oro in order to learn more about the different patterns and their meaning.

Sewing the lampshades as spirals versus rings makes a big difference in the production process. In both cases the caña flecha has to be woven in strips. However, when sewing in spirals the caña flecha can be woven as meters and meters of long strips that are simply sewn together until the right size of the lampshade has been reached. With the rings, the caña flecha strips have to be cut precisely and woven to the precise diameter that is needed to give the lampshade the right shape. After the rings have been made they have to be sewn together one by one in order to create the right shape.