Draft of handmade book, “de los pájaros y las flores”
The making of “de los pájaros y las flores”
“de los pájaros y las flores | of birds and flowers”
I am excited to share a draft of “de los pájaros y las flores | of birds and flowers.” The book presents work from over ten years of interaction with women building community and sustaining families through the informal economy in El Salvador. These women are entrepreneurs and survivors. While on the street, in the market and running small businesses from their homes, they wear distinctive aprons, delantales. The aprons are embellished with elaborate patterns of lace and ribbon. A second layer features open accessible pockets. And a third layer close to the women’s bodies holds secret pockets concealed in the folds. A long cloth band wraps around the body and is tied securely in the front.
Through the structure and metaphor of the apron I point to the stereotypes, the community building, and the personal dreams and traumas the women carry with them. The ingenuity and labor of these women flips the symbol of the apron from one of domestic subservience to public agency. The book is constructed with devices to conceal and reveal narratives and offer insight into present-day El Salvador.
Major themes of the book are the agency of women in community building, forces driving migration, cycles of generational trauma, the volcanic terrain, and the tension between public and private identities.
Draft of handmade book, “de los pájaros y las flores”
The making of “de los pájaros y las flores”