Description of the Process and Preservation of the Neo- Tapestries

For Paulina Ortiz, the process of the making of her works is almost a ritual. The obtaining of the fibers as well as the fabrics starts the whole process; it is followed by the cleaning, carding, dyeing and even the gumming of the arboreal elements, the painting and finally, the planning of the structure in the space
The CABUYA, SISAL or HENEQUEN (Agave Sisalana) is a thick and long fiber produced in the mountains of San Cristóbal, region of the Saints’ in Costa Rica. A plant of CABUYA is considered to be ripe when it produces leaves consecutively each year and it may have a productive life time of up to twenty five years. First class CABUYA is that material that, once it has been dried, is not broken or burst; it is more than a meter long and it reflects a natural light.

In order to process the CABUYA, the workers cut the leaves from the base during the dry season, they pass the leaves trough the rasp to obtain the fibers and tear them off from the layers of ‘meat’ or cellulose and then they are placed over ‘mecates’ to dry in free air, the leaves are stored for a future sale.

Ortiz starts by separating groups of fibers from the bundle (previously treated) she brushes them with the carder, then she gathers the fibers and then she twists them with the aid of acid free glues, forming in this way the main arboreal elements that will be manipulated to form her neo- tapestries.

These elements are then painted with acrilic paints to ensure its permanence. The macaw feathers are taken from a certified macaw growing farm.

These neo-tapestries will eventually be freely incorporated into the space or will be immortalised inside crystal structures that will be covered by certain fabrics which were dyed according to ancestral techniques such as ‘jaspeado’ or ‘batik’

For ‘jaspeado’ Ortiz uses the technique of knots and folds that, placed in a certain organized form, give specific designs and effects in the dyeing. Some of her fabrics could be dyed up to seven times in order to obtain the desired color and effect .

Her batik fabrics are first dyed and then painted with a mixture of beeswax and paraffin and finally painted with acrylic paint.

For the knots and knits Paulina employs RAMIO (Boehmeria nivea chinensis), dyed with particular dyes that make its resultant golden color result very intense and profound.

The natural aging look of these fabrics will inevitably transport us to other places and times.