We have a special treat in a fascinating hand-woven textile presentation. Darleen Wilkerson Karpowicz, local artist and designer, will present Uzbekistan and Central Asia hand-woven textiles.
Darleen worked with women in Yemen training them how to adapt their traditional textile making skills into modernized products to sell locally. Darleen will bring samples of products that were used as teaching tools and explain how these projects work and why they were such a success – as they all ended up helping women better their economic situation and change women’s lives. She will also have on hand the artisans’ current products shown at the recent Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.
Her Background:
Darleen Wilkerson is an artist and designer who went to Yemen in 1981 to start an art department at a private Yemeni school. While working in Yemen for five years she met and married her husband (from England) and since that time together they have lived and worked in many developing countries for the past 33 years.
Darleen worked predominately in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia She worked with mostly Muslim women training them how to adapt their traditional textile making skills into modernized products to sell locally.
Darleen will bring samples of products that were used as teaching tools and explain how these projects work and why they were such a success – as they all ended up helping women better their economic situation and change women’s lives.
She will also show current production of some of the artisans she worked with in Central Asia as these Artisans have continued to improve and to find markets for their production. Uzbek textiles are daringly colorful with fantastic artistic embroidery and Ikat patterns and are now valued all over the world as works of art.
Our other special treat will be a birthday cake for our DWS birthday party. Come celebrate the Guild’s Birthday at the end of the meeting!