Obdulia

Dimensions: 43" x 27"
Materials: Wool on monk's cloth
Designed and hooked by Tricia Tague Miller, Wurzburg, Germany.
Featured in: Celebration III

"What I remember about hooking the rug was that I was living in El Paso. Heat and the unavailability of wool fabric brought me to request that a friend and rug-hooking teacher, Terri Strack in New Hampshire, do the dyeing for me. I sent her a photo of a traditional Zapotec garment which belonged to another friend, Obdulia Ruiz Campbell, who is Zapoteca and from Oxaca, Mexico. Obdulia was pleased that I was acknowledging the beauty of her culture by designing a rug after a traditional traje, made of a very expensive hand-embroidered floral velvet.

I feel yet that this rug was the product of friendship and appreciation. Without Terri or Obdulia, there would be no rug. Nor would it have been hooked without the handwork of a person unknown. The embroidery in Oxaca traditionally was done by muxe, transvestite men who hold a very special place in their society, as Obdulia reported. Given the changes in awareness in U.S. society right now concerning sexuality, it is important for this to be mentioned now as it was back in Celebration III.

What I like about the rug is that the brilliant colors celebrate life and how it reminds me of the myriad of connections involved in all we do and create.

What was most challenging was drawing out the design to balance the flowers.

What strikes me the most is that I still have these two friends although we live thousands of miles apart. This rug physically symbolizes a bond of us three made 27 years ago."
- Tricia Tague Miller, Celebration Hall of Fame 2019