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Ada Colocho
Ada Colocho
Ada Colocho 1968 Textile and embroidery artist. Born in the city of Jutiapa, Guatemala, in 1968, her artistic work began in the quiet of her home and, later, through her volunteer work teaching traditional embroidery classes for low-income women in her community. She has practiced basic hand-embroidery techniques since childhood. Inquisitive and research-oriented by nature, her independent study and experimentation with novel techniques led her to develop her own canvas oxidation technique in 2013, an artistic technical process which she has named Apis Ferrugo. She complements this technique with hand-embroidery directly on the oxidized canvases, or uses treated canvas as key piecework for her textile collage compositions. Her unique, intimate, and personal body of work unifies diverse techniques and processes. Since 2018, Ada Colocho has participated in various national and international group exhibitions in galleries within Guatemala (Fundación Rozas Botrán, Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo Church Gallery, Casa Noj, etc.). She won third place at Juannio Auction, Guatemala, in 2021. Currently, she continues to develop her Apis Ferrugo technique (phases II and III), experimenting with new textures, brocades, and multiple patterns stamped with rust on a single canvas, as well as continues to push the boundaries of textile art in developing new artistic pieces. Apis Ferrugo Apis Ferrugo is a technique of printing on textiles which I have been developing for over twelve years. I named it Apis Ferrugo (from the Latin, apis = honeybee ferrugo = rust) because a swarm of bees passed in front of me at the specific moment that I, having paused to reflect on my work, realized that not all irons rust or react the same. I realized that, depending on its level of acidity, any given iron would either tear the fabric apart, destroying it for use – or would leave a unique oxidization mark, printing the fabric beautifully. This observation allowed me to begin to understand the qualities of the irons, from there I began the journey of learning to work with them accordingly, a journey that continues to evolve.
Ada Colocho Arts
See all Ada Colocho artsAs I transport myself in full awareness to the days of my childhood, I recall my mother working on embroidery on her old wooden bench, the smell of fresh grass, and the sounds of the river rushing past just beyond the edge of our garden. Like opening a drawer full of treasures that I enjoy every time I open it after blowing off the dust, I treasure such gratifying memories. My childhood, suffused with emotional and spiritual richness, paved the way for my mind and spirit to awaken, and paved the way for a particular fondness for music, colors, shapes, textures, flavors, aromas to take form in my life. Immersed in the artistic world, I now discover that this wealth of experiences has been intimately tied to my compositions and processes. I have done embroidery utilizing conventional techniques since I was a girl of 12, but it has been only in the last decade of my life that I have studied, experimented with, and independently practiced the modern and advanced hand-embroidery techniques that include stumpwork, trapunto, 3D embroidery, appliqué, and others. My curiosity and constant drive to learn, research, and innovate have led me to develop Apis Ferrugo, a technique that involves the direct application of iron to canvases made of natural fibers like cotton or linen, creating an oxidization result. I then embellish the oxidized canvas with hand embroidery using a mix of traditional and modern techniques, or I may strategically cut pieces of the oxidized canvas for use in compositional processes in textile collages. The creation of textiles and the use of embroidery are important practices developed since the beginning of humanity, present in almost every aspect of human life from birth to death. For this reason I am so interested in reviving this art, which has almost been forgotten by recent generations, and presenting this art to the public through my vision, my perception, and my artist’s spirit.
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