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Dream Weaver


Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga Can you guess how the artist made this textile?

In her weavings, Agueda Martínez often used cotton cloth instead of wool yarn. She collected pieces of fabric of all sizes. To make materials suitable to weave, she first ripped the fabric into long, thin strips. Then she twisted the fabric on a spindle so the strips become very tight and compact. Once this was done, Martínez used these materials to make a tapestry.

A jerga (pronounced "hair-ga") is a coarse woven textile used for covering floors and wrapping bundles. Martínez's work is a jerga in name only! You would not want to walk on her beautifully designed textile!

See how Martínez makes cotton tapestries in our Latino Webzine, ¡del Corazón! If you go to the Process and Art page, you can watch videos of her at work!

Pictured: Agueda Martínez, 1898–2000, Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga, 1994, woven cotton cloth on cotton yarn warp, 86 1/2 x 52 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in part through the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program.