# Folk Art Podcast For Kids

An episode of [The Children's Hour](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1373480705), 13 Aug 2026, 59 min.

Audio: https://media.blubrry.com/childrenshour/ins.blubrry.com/childrenshour/TCH_FolkArt_podcast.mp3

Join The Children's Hour Kids Crew in a field trip to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, the largest in the world! Learn what makes something "Folk Art" in conversations with artists from dozens of countries. The podcast learning guide and activities for use in classrooms can be found at ChildrensHour.org/folk-art

## Transcript

[0:01] Coming up on The Children's Hour, join the kids crew and me in a field trip to the Santa Fe
[0:07] International Folk Art Market. It's the largest of its kind in the world. In conversations
[0:14] with the artisans, we learn what makes something considered folk art, and we hear about the
[0:20] legacy of the art in the families of the artists. Find our learning guide for this episode for
[0:27] use in the classroom and to learn more at ChildrensHour.org. Look for this episode, Folk Art. Mixed with
[0:35] great music, there's a lot to learn today on The Children's Hour. Learn with us. The Children's
[0:41] Hour is an independent production of The Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico based non-profit.
[0:47] We're distributed by Native Voice One, the Native American radio network. It's time for The Children's
[0:54] Hour! Kids Public Radio!
[1:04] Why did the artist think the paintbrush could swim? I don't know why! Because she heard that
[1:12] it's great at strokes. It's time for The Children's Hour! Kids Public Radio!
[1:26] here I haven't seen you in many a year if I knew you were coming I'd bake the cake bake
[1:35] the cake Bake the cake if I knew you were coming I'd have baked the cake Had you do, how'd you
[1:41] do, how'd you do. Had you dropped me a letter I'd have hired a band. Grandest band in the
[1:47] land Had you dropped me a letter I'd have hired a band. And spread the welcome mat for you. Now
[1:53] I don't know where you came from. Cause I don't know where you've been. But it really doesn't
[1:59] matter. Grab a chair and tell your platter and Dig, dig, dig right in If I knew you were coming
[2:04] I'd have baked a cake Hired a band? Goodness sake! If I knew you were coming I'd have baked
[2:10] a cake. How'd you do, how'd you do, how'd do?
[2:19] Bye!
[2:55] knew you were coming out of baked a cake, baked a cake, baked a cake If I knew you were coming
[3:02] out of baked a cake, how'd you do, how'd you do, how'd you do? Had you dropped me a letter,
[3:07] I'd have hired a band. Grandest band in the land Had you dropped me a letter, I'd have
[3:12] hired a band I spread the welcome map for you. Now I don't know where you came from. Cause
[3:19] I don't know where you've been. But it really doesn't matter, grab a chair and fill your
[3:24] platter and tick, tick, right in. If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake, hired
[3:30] a band, for goodness sake. If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake. How'd you do,
[3:35] how'd you do, how'd you do? How'd you do, how'd you do, how'd you do? How'd you do, how'd you
[3:41] do, how'd you do? That was Lisa Loeb & The Hollow Trees with the 1950 hit, If I Knew You
[3:49] Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake. This is The Children's Hour and I'm Katie Stone. Today
[3:53] on the show, we're taking you with us on a Children's Hour kids crew field trip to Santa Fe, New
[3:59] Mexico on the Rail Runner.
[4:05] That's our train that runs between central New Mexico where Albuquerque is and where we live,
[4:11] north to Santa Fe, our state capital. Every summer, the Santa Fe International Folk Art
[4:18] Market brings in folk artisans from around the world to showcase and sell their art. Their
[4:26] art includes paintings, sculptures, baskets, tapestries, rugs, instruments, furniture.
[4:34] toys, household goods, and so much more. Each piece is unique and each is considered folk
[4:43] art. Since 2004, when the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market began, artists have earned
[4:52] more than $31 million at the market, money that further impacts and helps more than a
[4:59] million people. We want to know more about the artists, and unpack what folk art is.
[5:08] So we started by talking with Leslie Fagre. She's the Director of Education at the Santa
[5:15] Fe International Folk Art Museum. And we started by asking our kids crew how they define art.
[5:22] Well, I think art has a lot of different definitions depending on who you ask, but I think it's
[5:28] creating something beautiful or something that is meaningful to you. To me, art is really
[5:35] anything that you find beauty in. So it can be playing an instrument or painting a picture
[5:43] or making a sculpture. I think all nature is art to me. Oh It forms a ginormous picture
[5:54] of something little for some other people. Yeah, I think that's a beautiful thought that
[6:03] art is nature. But Leslie, when you're talking about folk art, you mean something very different,
[6:10] don't you? I do. I mean, yes and no, because folk art is all of those things in a way,
[6:16] and it expresses all of those things. But folk art really came from a tradition coming from
[6:22] a community expression and also from people who couldn't go to art school or maybe didn't
[6:30] have special art materials at home. So in a way they looked right around themselves and
[6:36] maybe in their backyard is clay nearby or is there wood nearby or I have to make a sweater
[6:42] to stay warm in the winter but I want to make it beautiful. So a lot of folk art is very
[6:48] everyday ordinary things that we want to make beautiful. People made baskets and they thought
[6:55] you know, we want to make them recognizable. They come from our community
[7:00] and they're special. So let's just use these two colors and make a special design in it.
[7:06] So when someone looks at that basket, they know it comes from our village or our community
[7:10] and it's beautiful, but it also carries things for us. Could folk art be handmade? Well,
[7:17] that's another really good question. It's actually something we talk a lot about at our museum
[7:23] because we used to think of folk art as always having to be handmade. And it would be whether
[7:30] you knit a sweater or make a basket or make a mud painting like some places in Africa,
[7:36] then they actually paint with mud. It's there and it makes beautiful designs and decorations.
[7:42] But sometimes now, for example, a lot of the materials we use, they might be plastic
[7:50] or they might be synthetic things. And some people think that, you know, some part of it
[7:57] can be handmade, but some part of it can maybe be machine made. So it's not quite as clear
[8:02] anymore. So folk art is an artistic expression of culture often using heritage or generational
[8:11] artistic traditions and materials that people have on hand. There are a lot of photos and
[8:17] examples of the folk art we saw posted at this episode page, where you'll also find our learning
[8:22] guide to explore folk art even more. Our learning guides meet and cite national education standards
[8:29] so that they can be used in the classroom. Find this one at ChildrensHour.org. Look for folk
[8:35] art. When we come back, we'll be on the train to Santa Fe with Jo, Thorfin, and Addie
[8:43] from our kids' group, going to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, where we're
[8:48] going to learn more about folk art from the artists themselves. Stay tuned, you're listening
[8:55] to The Children's Hour, and this is Tom Knight from The Classroom Boogie.
[9:03] If you can walk, you can dance If you can talk, you can sing. You've got the power to create
[9:09] anything that you feel Let your spirit shine through And I believe, I believe in you.
[9:24] It's not about who's smart as door, if you're a girl or guy. Everybody is an artist, all you
[9:29] have to do is try. From the little bitty baby to the oldest living man If you are human
[9:36] you can, you can, you can If you can walk, you can dance If you can talk, you can sing.
[9:44] You've got the power to create anything that you feel. Let your spirit shine through, shine
[9:52] through, shine through. And I believe, I believe in you. With a pen and paper you can draw a
[10:03] lot of lines. With some paint or crayons you can make a nice design. You can build it out
[10:09] of wood or make it out of clay. You can do it now today, today, today! If you can walk,
[10:19] you can dance, if you can talk, you can sing, you've got the power to create anything that
[10:24] you feel. Let your spirit shine through, shine through, shine through, shine through, I believe,
[10:34] I believe in you.
[10:46] you.
[10:59] The living person has a story that is true No one else can tell it. There is only you
[11:04] music and the beating of their heart. You gotta let it out, it's hard, it's hard, it's hard.
[11:14] If you can walk, you can dance, if you can talk, you can sing, you've got the power to create
[11:20] anything that you feel. Let your spirit shine through, shine through, shine through, shine
[11:28] through, and I believe, I believe in you.
[11:43] I want to learn what folk art is and also learn a bit about it. I want to find out what the difference between
[11:52] art and folk art are and what are some of the stories behind some of the folk art people
[11:58] create. I also want to learn what folk art is. I have never really heard of it before
[12:04] and I'm really excited to meet new people and talk to them about their careers. This
[12:12] is The Children's Hour. We're on the rail runner with some of our crew going up to the Santa
[12:17] Fe International Folk Art Market. It's the largest folk art market in the world and generates
[12:24] more money for the artists than any other folk art market anywhere. We're excited on the
[12:30] way to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.
[12:45] I think folk art is something that has a tradition that can go back from 200 years behind. It's
[12:54] all made by hand and it's generally something you learned from your parents or an elder
[13:01] in your community. It's a knowledge that's passed down the generations. I'm a second-generation
[13:08] artist. My father was an artist. I learned, I started learning when I was eight years old
[13:15] from my mother. I'm the fourth generation. He has been practicing this art from his childhood
[13:26] and his father inspired him to come in this techniques. You're seeing culture. You know,
[13:35] every place has a different environment, different materials that are available to them, different
[13:41] things to make their art out of.
[13:52] I'm seeing a bunch of booths with many different types of folk art. I'm passing one with a
[13:58] bunch of jewelry. Right now I am seeing many different textiles of fabric and they all
[14:05] look quite beautiful. My name is Gasali Adeyemo and I'm from Nigeria, southwest of Nigeria.
[14:16] And I'm a textile artist. I work with natural dye called indigo. Indigo is a very powerful
[14:23] color in my country. Your art has lots of designs in it. How do you bake it? The technique
[14:31] you see right here on the table, I have a traditional Yoruba tie dye. I have some of them called
[14:39] Adire, which is from Tapioca cassava. And also the one you see with the colorful also
[14:45] is Batik. Cool. Thank you very much. You're welcome. This booth at the folk market I'm
[14:56] stopping at is full of very beautiful, super colorful clothes with all kinds of different
[15:04] patterns. We're gonna talk to the person in the stand who makes them. Yes, my name is
[15:12] Abdullah Khatri. I'm from Gujarat. This craft is actually our community tradition. Basically,
[15:21] we are dyers in our community. So we do this bandhani craft since around 400, 450 years
[15:30] ago. Me and my brother, we started again in my family. So we learned this technique from
[15:37] our friends and family, other relatives. So that's the way we started. We learned this
[15:45] technique and we think, why don't we do this as our livelihood? How do you make this? We
[15:54] are mostly working on two techniques. One is bandhani. Bandhani means to tie and dye.
[16:01] But it started from the tracing design on the fabric first and then we followed that
[16:08] design and then we tie it and then we dye it. You just heard from multiple artists that
[16:18] we spoke with at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. There were more than 162 artists
[16:25] from 52 countries. One of the voices you heard was Jean Crawford. She's a volunteer at the
[16:32] Santa Fe International Folk Art Market's musical stage. Not only does the market have artisans,
[16:38] it also has music from around the world. This is The Children's Hour where we're learning
[16:44] about folk art. Remember this episode comes with a learning guide. Find it at ChildrensHour.org.
[16:51] Look for this episode, Folk Art. Up next, this is Friend of The Children's Hour, Falu.
[17:19] Take a pretty flower, any color. Giza from India. Juhi Bela, Champa Rajanigandha. Juhi
[17:36] Bela, Champa Rajanigandha. Grandma likes to part my hair too. To ponytails that look so
[17:44] beautiful. She tucked the Juhi Jasmine in my hair. It smelled Pick a yummy fruit Any
[17:55] flavor These are from India The ground is full of big black ants. They're staying still
[18:16] but I'll take a chance. My mom says they're yummy jamun fruit. I'll climb the tree and
[18:21] give one to you.
[18:45] Healthy vegetables
[18:50] These are from India My dad needs guava beans to cook his specialty. He cooks it on a Sunday
[19:10] morning. The cluster beans are Pick a pretty flower any color These are from India These
[19:27] are from India These are from India.
[19:44] You are listening to The Children's Hour, I'm Katie Stone. In the background, it's Pottington Bear.
[19:49] Today on The Children's Hour, we're learning about folk art. Is there a folk art in your
[19:56] family? We want to know more. Reach out to us at childrenshour.org and click on the contact
[20:03] link. Tell us about your family's folk art tradition. Remember, this episode comes with
[20:10] a learning guide. It meets and cites educational standards. You can find it at ChildrensHour.org.
[20:17] Look for folk art. You're listening to The Children's Hour. Kids Public Radio will be
[20:23] right back. The Children's Hour is produced by the Children's Hour, Inc. We're a New Mexico-based
[20:29] nonprofit organization. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs supports The Children's
[20:34] Hour. Experience the magic of New Mexico's many cultural traditions at museums and historic
[20:39] sites statewide. Learn more at nmculture.org slash traditions. The Children's Hour shorts have
[20:47] dropped. We made short segments from our shows for educators to make the most out of our learning
[20:52] guides and activities. Season one of The Children's Hour shorts is at childrenshour.org. Look for
[20:57] the shorts.
[21:10] Friendships are fabi-
[21:21] Fairness is the pattern we're trying to rebuild. And forgiveness is knowing we're learning to
[21:30] sew our own way I was born in. North and then got found in your family I know my granny had
[21:35] faith I asked her she had a hand on me. Hopped in 68, yeah that was a gamble. We didn't
[21:40] have much to sing we always had ample eats. Her love used to cover me just like a canopy She
[21:45] was my guiding light just like a canopy in the night then come back just to glance at me
[21:50] I better pay it off I'm so glad she took a chance on me. Mama I made this hit because you chose
[21:55] to play the scene I forgive you when.
[22:11] Steal some love and She's no longer here, she lives on through me I'm her legacy, Stella
[22:22] Rossi.
[22:45] So I rol.l That was The Quilt by SaulPaul featuring Red Yarn from a release called Be The Change.
[22:55] You're listening to The Children's Hour and today on the show, we're exploring folk art.
[23:02] Our kids crew went to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market this summer where we're learning
[23:07] what folk art is all about from the artisans themselves. Let's join Jo at the stage.
[23:17] We're listening to some singers from Croatia who are up on the stage right now.
[23:36] So another one of the booths has an assortment of pots in all different shapes and sizes.
[23:44] My name is Jabulile Nala. I'm from South Africa in a place called KwaZulu Natal and I'm from
[23:54] the Zulu tribe. When did you start making this art? I started when I was, I think, 26. but
[24:04] I never really got into it until last year. That's when I started to make serious pottery
[24:10] and I was in it. How do you make it? About the designs and stuff? Okay, so the first thing
[24:17] is to dig clay from a clay mine. It's called red clay. And then we sift the clay after
[24:23] we've grinded it into a powdery texture. And then we take the stones out. and then we soak
[24:30] it in water overnight. And then we knead it like you would with flour when you're making
[24:34] bread. And then we start making coils and then we coil the pot until it's complete. And then
[24:40] we shape it. And then after it's dry enough to handle, we take a sharp instrument and
[24:48] then we start making incisions on the pot, drawing patterns. And then after that, we throw it
[24:53] in the fire, straight into the fire. Then it comes out and then we put shoe polish on it
[24:59] to make it shine. Can you tell me the stories behind some of the pots? Okay, the designs
[25:06] on the pots have some meaning, like these for instance, the little bumps. These are
[25:12] called amasumpa and these were used to calculate a person's wealth. So everything he had
[25:20] would be a dot. If he had a cow, that would be one dot. If he had two wives, that would
[25:26] be two dots. and so forth. Wow. What are the meanings of all the triangles? The triangles
[25:33] are for decorative purposes to make the pot look more pretty and also to help you carry
[25:41] the pot so it doesn't slip out of your hands.
[25:52] Can you tell me your name? Maya. Can you tell me what type of art you do? So we are bringing
[25:58] this basketry story from the birthplace of Buddha. So these women have been doing this
[26:03] basketry work since generations, but they are not being able to take these out of their
[26:09] houses and all. So we are trying to reimagine the objects that we see around with the objects
[26:15] that they have been weaving since, generations. I'll show you some of the, patterns. For example,
[26:21] these you could see like step-like patterns and all. So here we are like dreaming of
[26:28] the Buddha story of from his birth to the enlightenment period. So we call this journey baskets. The
[26:35] women we are working with used to weave these big wedding baskets and the bride used to take
[26:41] this as a dowry and then to store their valuables like clothes or ornaments and things like
[26:47] that and then hung on the wall. So these are the stories that we are carrying from our community
[26:52] and bringing in here in Santa Fe for the first time. That is awesome. So how long does it
[26:57] take to make one of these? So it depends on the designs or the motifs. So since these are
[27:04] the traditional coiling method, we call it, it takes hours and hours to make the basket.
[27:10] For example, one of this small size takes 10 days to complete. The bigger ones,
[27:15] it would take from 10 days to a year. Now we are trying to link this culture with the income
[27:22] generation thing, so this is more like empowering them financially also. How else do you get
[27:28] empowered by women? They have been weaving this for their household utilities
[27:34] and things, but using their own inherited skills, now they are being able to make money
[27:42] out of this with the same skill and with the same material, with the same imagination.
[27:48] So that makes them feel empowered while also retaining their culture. Yeah, that is so awesome.
[27:55] Thank you so much. I love how each piece has a story behind it. That is so cool. Yeah,
[28:00] as I said, these are not the baskets, but each of them carry my community's stories
[28:06] and my country's stories. So folk art can provide opportunities to earn a living in addition
[28:14] to carrying on a community's story through art. baskets that take a year to weave, intricately
[28:21] carved bowls. Folk art includes many types of art. Today on The Children's Hour, we're
[28:28] learning about folk art. From Place of Hope, this is A Zulu Chant.
[28:35] You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone. And today on the show,
[29:10] we're learning about folk art. We sent some of our kids' crew to the Santa Fe International
[29:16] Folk Art Market to meet artisans and to find out firsthand what folk art is. You can find
[29:24] our learning guide for this episode at ChildrensHour.org. Look for folk art. Let's catch up with Jo
[29:31] at the market. Another one of these stands. holds tables that have models of these beautiful
[29:39] buildings. They look like almost palaces, but they're very small. They're only like
[29:46] an inch or two high. Let's go and talk to the people inside.
[29:54] Hello, my name is Emirka. I'm from Poland, from Krakow. We have our nativity scene called
[30:03] Szopka. They're inspired by architecture of our city. How do you make them? We make
[30:13] them with cardboard, some wood and aluminium foil. My favourite part of Szopka, I think,
[30:22] is making figures. I have my own idea how to do this. I use aluminium foil only. We
[30:32] have a competition in our city in December. We show our shop key and commission the
[30:41] site, which one is the beauteous one. How long has your family been making them? In my family,
[30:49] it started from my grandfather and he teach my mom and her teach me.
[31:36] So he makes retablos.
[31:42] That was the name given when the Spanish conquistadores came and brought the Catholic faith to Los
[31:49] Incas. Before, they had, of course, their traditional symbols and religion. And this
[31:56] one is called the San Marcos Retablo.
[32:03] And there's two levels of it. The saints are on the top level, and then down below are all
[32:24] of the things of nature that would have been part of the Incan traditional spiritual way.
[32:31] So a lot of the pieces, they're small. They have a lot of these cabinet doors and they
[32:40] open to be seen. Some of them have religious figures as well as like skeletons and nature,
[32:47] fish. And then if you go over, there's also some masks that are designed. And they also
[32:54] have smaller sculptures of animals. Yeah, it's very colorful. In 1970, father Florentino
[33:04] Jiménez, was one of the great masters in the re-tables, through him I learned. He changed
[33:10] the theme of history and has monument in Peru, part of the of Ayacucho, in the Ministry Culture.
[33:16] He has diplomas. Thanks to him I also tried to study little art. I decorations of being
[33:25] an artist for the Congress of the Republic of Peru. His father was an internationally famous
[33:31] and recognized and he has like awards and a monument to him near Ayacucho or in the
[33:41] state of Ayacucho and with that he luckily got to also do this field and be educated. Well
[33:50] thank you. You are welcome.
[34:00] In another booth that we pass, there's so many shoes. They're full of colors and patterns.
[34:11] My name is George Kwame Baah. I'm originally from Ghana, but we live in Texas now. Your
[34:18] shoes are beautiful. When did you start making them? I started making shoes when I was seven
[34:24] years old, but not as a business, as a way to help my parents. But fast forward, when
[34:30] I came to the U.S. of 2011, we started making them as a business. How do you make them?
[34:36] So we make them first by woven the kente. So I have oh about 20 people that do the woven.
[34:44] We weave the cotton and then once we weave it, we cut it with something we call shoe
[34:50] last. It's a mold. Based on that mold, I use to form the shoe and then we sew them together.
[35:02] I think folk art is something that has a tradition to it that can go back from 200 years behind.
[35:10] But it can also be re-innovated with new meanings to it. So the kente is a tradition
[35:20] that goes back to thousands of years. But the way I make the shoe is a re-innovation of the
[35:25] kente. Re-innovation of a thousand plus year old tradition? Now that sounds like folk art.
[35:36] We're learning about folk art on The Children's Hour and we have more to come. This is Green
[35:42] Chili Jam Band.
[36:05] Jessie likes to paint with her hands. Simon mixes paint with sand. And Jolie draws a green line
[36:15] thin. And then she splatters it with yellow. Again and again and again. He's in the paper mache.
[36:27] And Julia's writing a play. But Joe just kind of stares into space. Where gets his best ideas
[36:38] Just look at the size of the grin. It's wrapped around his face. But you create your. You create
[36:49] your own way. You create your own. But you create your own day. Hector shapes the clay with his
[37:01] feet Louise thinks. Hector's neat. But she persuades the clay with her thumbs. And then she gives
[37:11] her clay to. Rita Who bakes it while she hums. But you create your own way. You create your
[37:23] own way. You create your own. You create your own
[37:38] you.
[37:49] Callie sings a clever song. He makes it up as he goes along. And Lily gathers rags and wheats
[38:00] And then she weaves them all together. To make her tapestry. But you create your own way. You
[38:13] create your own way. You create your own way. You create your own day. You create your own
[38:28] you
[38:32] You create your own.
[38:40] can do it, you can do it, now's the perfect time. Everyone starts somewhere so don't miss
[38:46] the chance to try to paint a picture blue
[39:03] you
[39:12] start somewhere so don't miss the chance to try to write
[39:44] the perfect time. Everyone starts somewhere so don't miss the chance to try to sing a
[39:52] song.
[40:09] Hope Harris from Picasso That's Who (And So Can You!) and in the background we've got Crowander
[40:15] lots more on folk art coming right up. You're listening to The Children's Hour Kids Public
[40:21] Radio we'll be right back. Support for The Children's Hour provided by New Mexico Arts
[40:27] a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and by the National Endowment for the
[40:32] Arts. Support for The Children's Hour provided by the City of Albuquerque Cultural Services
[40:37] Department and the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund. Hi, I love The Children's Hour because
[40:46] it's fun and you go to all sorts of different places. I'm Yoshi James from Australia. Take
[40:52] The Children's Hour with you on your road trip. Find us at ChildrensHour.org or anywhere you
[40:57] listen to podcasts.
[41:02] old fashioned dad says she broke the mold whatever that means she's got an old gas
[41:12] stove it's like a treasure trove she lights with a match and she's making everything and
[41:22] I mean everything from scratch.
[41:36] She's standing by the stove stirring. Her cat is in the kitchen purring. It smells
[41:46] so good in here. I just want to close the door.
[41:55] She's making everything and I made everything. from scratch
[42:05] She takes a little makes a lo.t Be careful sis it's kind of hot Is there more inside that
[42:12] pot? From scratch
[42:27] in this room talking so I put my leash upon my dog and go
[42:40] play a game of cat can do anything when you're making everything from scratch.
[43:02] you did while you were cooking but you made my dad look like a kid when he was looking
[43:10] at all those chocolate chips and icy cold milk sips let's hide the entire batch cause
[43:20] you made everything from scratch.
[43:37] done but there's food to wrap
[43:43] could use a nap. We can hardly move to our seats we're glued. It's like we're attached.
[43:52] It's like we're attached. She made everything and we ate everything from scratch. She takes
[44:03] a little, makes a lot. Be careful sis, it's kind of hot. Is there more inside that pot?
[44:10] I'm hoping so, but thinking not. She gave us much more than we thought. From scratch.
[44:59] You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone. And that was Cathy Fink and Marcy
[45:04] Marxer from Dancing in the Kitchen. Today on the show, we're learning about folk art. We
[45:10] have with us Armando Ortega on the phone. He's an eighth generation weaver from the town of
[45:17] Chimayo, New Mexico. Welcome to The Children's Hour, Armando. Thank you. Buenos dias. One
[45:24] of the things we learned on the show today about folk art is that it has to draw on a legacy
[45:29] or a cultural tradition or a family tradition. Who taught you how to weave Armando? My grandfather,
[45:38] Juan Melquiades Ortega from Chimayo, my dad's father, taught me to weave I think when I was
[45:45] 16 or 17 during the Christmas holiday from school. I think I might have spent a little, come back
[45:51] to school a little bit. I think I spent a month or two up there. And learned how to weave. Was
[45:56] he teaching you the patterns and designs that the Ortega family weavings are known for? Yeah,
[46:04] you know, it's all geometrical, diagonals and squares. And I've been reading lately, in the
[46:13] last few years, a lot more about the history of our weaving. Up until the late 1800s, weaving
[46:19] for us was just for our clothing and to trade for other goods. things you needed. But right
[46:26] before that, around 1840, just to show you the extent of weaving here, 20,000 blankets were
[46:34] exported from New Mexico to Mexico. Wow. But then as commerce came, when the trains came
[46:41] to New Mexico and machine-made blankets and stuff came in and were cheaper, the need for
[46:48] weaving lessened and became more of a tourist thing. And so designs were actually shaped
[46:54] by the tourist demands. Color schemes during different periods. I remember the 40s, my
[47:01] grandfather's blankets from that area were either very deep reds or turquoise blues. And it's
[47:06] a certain era where they were catering to tourist tastes. It did allow the weavers to still
[47:13] have a market. Could you describe what a chimayo weaving might look like? I prefer really
[47:21] earth colors, lots of tans and whites, shades of gray. My grandfather was a great colorist.
[47:28] He liked that he said, I like to make the colors sing on the loom. There's a lot of
[47:35] geometric design, you know, Native American blankets, Native American designs on beadwork, on pouches.
[47:42] A good friend of mine, Nazi Kazakowski, a really great weaver from New Mexico, who ended
[47:48] up moving part of the time to China. weaving out there and really has shown how those weavers
[47:55] up there and really as they say where weaving began, all the designs that we do now and
[48:01] I've been doing here really are just a continuation of the same geometric patterns.
[48:12] Do you feel connected to your relatives from long ago through your weaving? Oh, very much.
[48:18] So for the last about 15 years, I started, I put down the wool and I started making rag
[48:24] rugs out of torn cloth, which is also an old tradition from Europe even of recycling your
[48:31] old clothes, whatever towels, whatever textile goods when they wear out, you tear them into
[48:37] strips and have a weaver make them into a rug for your floor. So I am making those now. The
[48:45] oldest one I have that's been on the floor, some of them are 13, 14 years and they're still
[48:50] quite sturdy. I have some that a family in Chimaio gave us, the Ortiz family, our cousins. So
[48:58] through more or less the decade of the 20s, as their clothes and stuff were out, they stuffed
[49:03] all those rags in a bag and then cut them up and gave them to my grandfather and he wove
[49:10] floor rugs for them. And they gave me some in the last few years. have them there from thirties
[49:17] and they're still very intact. And you can tell they had a lot of use, but they're still quite
[49:24] sturdy. That's so cool to be touching the clothing that was probably worn by relatives of yours
[49:33] who are long past. Katie, when my sister brought me that, it's a long for a long hallway.
[49:42] And she told me that story that this is what the Ortiz family, our cousins, it's their
[49:47] cloth from the decade of the 20s. They're old stuff and when I unrolled it, I still,
[49:53] every time I unroll it, just, I'm just overwhelmed with the thought that this was clothing to
[50:00] my ancestors, you know. There's just something very special about that. And then it was made
[50:06] into this durable thing that's quite sturdy still.
[50:17] For kids listening, the process of weaving seems really daunting probably, but it's
[50:25] pretty straightforward if you have the right tools, isn't it? Weaving is very simple. At
[50:31] least the weaving I know. It's tapestry weaving on a two-harness loom. That's our traditional
[50:37] loom. There's looms that have four. I've seen looms with six and eight harnesses. That's
[50:44] a whole different type of weaving. And that gets kind of mathematical. But yeah, the loom
[50:50] is a very simple machine. You know, it requires maintenance. It's got to be very straight.
[50:55] You've got to have your screws screwed in tight. And as you bang that thing, as you're banging
[51:00] your wool into the blanket, your loom will travel across the floor. So you really have to somehow
[51:06] find a way to nail it down. My grandfather's in Chimayo had beams nailed to the ceiling
[51:13] down on the floor because it takes a lot of beating while you're weaving. The gramps wove from
[51:20] about the age of 13, I think, till he was 100. He went blind when he was 100 and he was still
[51:27] weaving. Master, eighth generation weaver Armando Ortega, thank you so much for being with us
[51:34] on The Children's Hour today. Thank you all. Armando's not just a weaver, he's a retired
[51:43] preschool teacher, and says hi to all his kids from La Puerta, and he's also a musician. This
[51:49] is his band, Wagogo, right here on The Children's Hour.
[52:00] you
[52:27] Mommy I love you
[52:34] de
[53:07] you
[53:44] What I am doing
[54:09] I'm doing it.
[54:13] Oh
[55:07] That's Wagogo from Familia y Amor right here on The Children's Hour. And we're out of time,
[55:13] but we've learned a lot about folk art. You can learn even more and bring The Children's
[55:19] Hour into the classroom. Find our learning guide that goes with this episode at childrenshour.org.
[55:26] Look for folk art. And there you're also going to see photos of some of the artists and their
[55:32] work that you heard about today on the show and much. much more. We've got time for just
[55:39] one more. We're going to go out with Jessica Harper from Hey, Picasso. Thanks for listening
[55:44] to The Children's Hour. We'll catch you next time. There was so much rain today. All you
[55:52] could do was watch. The day just set there big and and grey. The sun appeared and broke things
[56:01] up. That never minded me. Something that my mother used to say. When there was freshness
[56:10] in the air. When there was a rainbow she'd say. Beauty in everything. There is beauty in everything
[56:20] Beauty in everything. Beauty in everything.
[56:37] Things growin' in my garden, no thorny in the ground It's growing fast. Butterflies keep
[56:49] their distance From this phytomai. As it casts its scary shadow on the grass. But when the
[56:59] sun is warm enough It blooms about hundred roses. There is beauty in everything. Beauty
[57:09] and everything, there is beauty in everything
[57:31] And in every ocean. There's an oyster with a pearl. And there's something shiny In every
[57:40] boy and girl.
[57:46] There's beauty in everything.
[57:58] The Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico non-profit.
[58:04] You can find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at ChildrensHour.org.
[58:10] This episode had a lot of help from our kids crew and their parents, including Thorfin,
[58:15] Jo, Addie, and Andrew. And it was written and produced by me, Katie Stone, with Christina
[58:20] Stella, Eli Henley, Gus Tafoya, Sarah Gabrielli, McKenzie Graunke, and Thaniel Lentz. Amber Shiel
[58:26] writes our learning guides. Find this one at ChildrensHour.org. Look for Folk Art. Find
[58:31] our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or go to our patreon.com slash The Children's
[58:37] Hour. Or ask your smart speaker to play The Children's Hour podcast. Our theme music was
[58:44] written by C.K. Barlow. The Children's Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, the Native
[58:50] American radio network. Thanks for listening to The Children's Hour, Kids Public Radio. © 2026 The Children’s Hour Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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