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When colonists first left Spain for what became Mexico and the American Southwest in 1598, they came with the continent’s first wool sheep. These weren’t the famed finewool Spanish Merinos—export of those was punishable by death—but rougher multipurpose Churra sheep. With simple tools, men sheared the sheep, women spindle-spun wool yarn, and men wove plain cloth called sabanilla.
In their few spare moments, women embroidered on scraps of fabric with naturally dyed yarn and a simple couching stitch. Embroidery made the fabric valuable for trade and beautiful for religious observances. Along with tinwork, wood carving and painting, and pottery, colcha embroidery became one of the folk arts that grew uniquely in the Southwest. When finer materials became available in the early 1800s, colcha embroidery began to decline in practice.
Home economics teacher Julia Gomez first learned colcha embroidery in the 1970s at the Folk Art Museum and at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a living history museum in Santa Fe where she volunteered in the summer. With teaching and family obligations, she didn’t delve deeper in the craft until decades later, when she fell in love with this local art form. Learning not only to stitch the colcha embroidery but also prepare the yarn and woven fabric (and even shear a sheep . . . once), she developed passion and expertise for its stories and techniques. Her work has been included in the juried Spanish Market, winning first prize, and is in numerous museum and private collections.
In addition to her own embroidery, Julia enjoys teaching and demonstrating, a natural continuation of her decades in the middle-school classroom and years as a docent at the Nuevo Mexico Heritage Arts Museum (formerly the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art). Whether spinning and weaving at El Rancho de las Golondrinas or demonstrating embroidery across the United States and internationally, Julia preserves the beautifully rustic tradition of colcha embroidery.
Links
- Julia Gomez authored “The Art and Tradition of Colcha Embroidery” and created the design “A Colcha Peahen” for PieceWork Winter 2022.
- Julia demonstrates at the El Rancho de las Golondrinas in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is open from June through October each year (and in April and May for private tours).
- Julia demonstrates and teaches at the Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum, where some of her work is also part of the permanent collection.
- Julia’s presentation “A Stitch Out of Time: A Story of Colcha Embroidery in New Spain” at the 2024 Weave a Real Peace (WARP) conference is available to watch on YouTube..
- El Rancho de las Golondrinas hosted Julia’s presentation “The Art and Tradition of Colcha Embroidery,” which is available on YouTube.
- Santa Fe honored Julia as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month in 2021 and created a video to celebrate her accomplishments.
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