CARRIE MIXON
Art Residency | Tetouan, Morocco
In January and February 2015, I was an AiR with Green Olive Arts in Tetouan, Morocco. Tetouan is located in the north of Morocco and has a rich history of craft and culture. While there, I was challenged to observe, interpret, and record what I saw as I explored the relationship between the people, the city, and surrounding Rif Mountains. All these elements share an intimate space in Tetouan and reflect one another in a sense of seamless and jarring coexistence.
Fesi Embroidery is an ancient Moroccan craft, intricate and geometric. The patterns must be created using an exact stitch sequence so that the embroidery is exactly the same on both sides.
The striped wool or cotton wraps woven by the "jebola" (mountain) women are a unique and colorful textile of Northern Morocco. I use some in this sampler as I explored the relationship between mountains and city.
This is another sampler featuring "jebola" fabric and some machine embroidery.
My final piece from my art residency with Green Olive Arts in Tetouan, created with local materials and machine and hand embroidery.
This figure is wearing a "jellaba", a common piece of Moroccan dress, made of real jellaba fabric.
Concept sketch for "Tetouan" set
Sketches of the Rif Mountains
Compositional sketching for "Tetouan | Street"
In my final piece I sketched with my sewing machine and used local materials to create a street scene. The first figure I did was this woman in a burka.