Professional Development

Hillary Steel, Intermediate School Art Teacher

In 2007 I began researching and documenting the complex process of making a jaspe rebozo (ikat resist dyed and woven shawl) on a traditional backstrap (body tensioned) loom, a complex and disappearing craft. I studied under the tutelage of master weaver Don Evaristo Borboa Casas, in the small industrial town of Tenancingo, in the State of Mexico, for 10 years. 

In 2016, while in Mexico City, I was able to “plant a seed” in the ear of the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico who had a strong interest in contemporary and traditional art and artists. A year later, in 2017, that conversation “sprouted” and, with the help of others,  Ambassador Roberta Jacobson came to Tenancingo to meet Don Evaristo and other weavers from the community. This was a highlight for all and especially poignant as it marked the year that Don Evaristo Borboa Casas became ill and was no longer able to teach. I continued to visit and interview him (until his death in 2020), and began to work with another weaver in the community. This summer I completed my tenth fine cotton jaspe rebozo woven on the “telar de otate”, the backstrap loom.

From the beginning of this project, (aside from the time spent daily working in the taller (workshop), I met and teamed up with local and international artisans and anthropologists to publish articles, produce a video, give presentations, and lead workshops, both in Mexico and the U.S. We taught and shared our knowledge at conferences and workshops in Mexico City and Oaxaca in Mexico, in Cusco, Peru, and in Nebraska and Georgia. Closer to home, I have introduced this and related topics to groups in New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Since 2018, I continue to study with other weavers in Tenancingo and am currently editing a handbook for weavers and others about the this endangered process, history  and comtemporary practice on the backstrap and floor looms, and am looking forward to its publication.

Over the years, this work was supported by the Potomac School through Summer Grants, the Green Grant, and the Fine Grant. For me, the work of preserving and passing down knowledge for future generations is of upmost importance. My students know that Ms. Steel too, is a student - a perpetual one. Most are aware that I have teachers just like they do, and that I have a great amount of respect for them. They know that I study textiles from all around the world. It helps them understand that even into adulthood, you never stop learning.