QUIPUS - AN INCA STORY ROPE?

I first heard about quipus in a story rope workshop in Lima, Peru. 

Later on our teaching trip to Peru, Cathy and I visited the Museo Larco.  There in one of the showcases were quipus!  

Quipus were the main system employed by the ancient Inca culture to record information and events. The knotted cords were used to record countable information. 

The colors, knots and distances between the knots enabled those who used the quipus to identify the type of object or the characteristics of the population being recorded.

photos in film grain

Making Story Ropes in the ION Create Zone

Story ropes @International Orality Network Conference  2nd of 2 posts  

In the middle of the Create Zone, surrounded by God's Story Rope going around the walls of the room, was a table top loaded with story rope materials.  

Individuals were encouraged to come around the table to make a story rope about their own life or a Bible character.  

And then of course they told their stories.  
(That's the part I love best in these workshops!)

Judy Powell (top photo-in yellow) did a great job planning the story rope sessions and organizing the whole Create Zone!

Thank you to Jolene Wilson, the source of this post. She was on the ground at the ION Conference, experiencing and photographing. Jolene shared the how-to of story ropes with Judy Powell, who took the idea and developed it for the conference. 

Story Ropes @ International Orality Network Conference

1st of 2 posts-Story ropes at 2013 ION conference, International Orality Network Conference, St. Louis, MO  

Judy Powell of Houston, TX coordinated the Create Zone during the conference.

Entering the Create Zone room, this is what you saw…Paul Neeley’s pictures of the crucifixion from all over the world in different styles.  Above that was God’s story rope with other ropes attached…starting in eternity past–going to eternity future–with the various milestones between.

Thank you, Jolene Wilson, for being the eyes on the ground, taking the pictures at ION! 

STORY ROPES IN THE DOMINICAN no. 2

Continued from previous post:

After creating their story ropes, the girls sat and listened to all their lives unfold in fabric. 

Later Martha (on right) said this:
Someone told me that the people of this culture, this village, lack imagination - that they think in terms of black and white - right and wrong - yes and no.  

If that's true, maybe it's because their imagination was never sparked. 

Because just look at the way these girls respond to a good story. Nobody's personal story is EVER black and white. 

Makes me wonder and imagine.

IN THE DOMINICAN SEWING ROOM no 1

My friend, Martha, headed down to Caraballo, Dominican Republic (DR) on her second mission trip. Her assignment, along with others on her team, was working with the young Dominican girls in the sewing room. 

In preparation for the trip, Martha brought friends to my studio to see some creative ideas for what they might do in the Dominican sewing room with the girls.  On their studio visit I taught them the story rope process - a way for the young girls to tell their story. 

Several donated bags of scraps were collected & brought down to the DR to use for the ropes.  Yes, they were going to make story ropes!

Photos: In the DR experiencing the story rope process.