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Through evocative images, insightful descriptions, and companion personal stories, Joe Coca guides us on a global journey, weaving together place, people, craft, and story with the human thread that connects us all. Each section of the book features an array of remarkable photographs that shows a region's people—most often portraits of artisans working in ancient traditions—as well as surprising glimpses of culture and environment. From a high altitude soccer match in Peru to silk weavers in Laos, exotic locales are made personal through intimate portraits, the work of hands, and everyday life captured, not by an observer, but by a participant, a fellow companion on the journey.

Pages: 188 | 100 Color Photos, Four-color Interior images

Size: 10.0in x 11.0in  |  Pages: 188  |  Binding: Hardback

Author Bio

Joe Coca grew up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado. After graduating from Colorado State University, he studied photography at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. For forty years he maintained a studio in Fort Collins, Colorado, but his work has taken him to cities and rural areas of five continents. He has photographed people from all walks of life, landscape, architecture, food, and especially handcrafted textiles. Coca has won numerous awards for his photography. He lives with his wife and two dogs in Weston, Colorado.

Against the backdrop of Guatemala, this book presents portraits of artisans working in the ancient traditions of the Maya paired with insights into the creation of the textiles and the events that have affected their work. Weaving, spinning, and basket making have sustained the Maya economically and culturally against the pressures of change and a 36-year civil war that decimated their population. Their persistence in continuing traditional art has created some of the loveliest, most colorful textiles the world has ever known. Artisans share their personal histories, hopes, and dreams along with the products of their hands and looms. Their stories show determination in the face of unimaginable loss and hardship which instill an appreciation for the textiles themselves and for the strong people who create them.

Size: 10.0in x 10.0in  |  Pages: 152  |  214 Color Photos, 1 Map

Author Bios

Joe Coca is a photographer of people from all walks of life over five continents, industrial products and installations, architecture, food, and especially handcrafted textiles and other artisan goods. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Deborah Chandler is the creator and director of Weaving Futures, where she has had the pleasure and honor of working with many Mayan weavers. She is the author of Learning to Weave. She lives in Guatemala.

Teresa Cordón is the owner of the award-winning Comercial Naleb, a handwoven hat business. She is an avid provider of education and marketing for the work of Mayan artisans. She lives in Guatemala.

This updated 2nd edition features a revised chapter. True Colors is about artists who create color from natural materials and about the historical importance and environmental sustainability of this practice. Deep conversations with 26 artisans from every part of the globe reveal their wisdom, traditions, and know-how—and suggest that we ignore what they know at our peril. Traditional approaches to making color offer sustainable options to a fashion system badly in need of them and memorable cultural narratives to a world hungry for beauty and spirituality. True Colors provides an immersive visual experience and an inspiring travelogue of personal stories and practical information from artists who are leaving their mark on the world.

Size: 9.0in x 11.0in  |  Pages: 252  |  300 Color Photos, Four-color Interior

Author Bio

Keith Recker is president and co-founder of Hand/Eye magazine and a board member and creative director of the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe. His previous book, Pantone: The Twentieth Century in Color, has been translated into eleven languages.