Árbol de Vida (Tree of Life)

Bertha Servín Barriga hand draws her images onto fabric for embroidering, using traditional colors of the Purépecha people of central Mexico. While some of her work depicts the church's liturgical cycle, this one presents the stages of life. She is president of a cooperative of textile workers. Her award-winning works, along with those of other members of the cooperative, are featured in the book Life Around the Lake: Embroideries by the Women of Lake Pátzcuaro, by Maricel E. Presilla and Gloria Soto (Henry Holt).

—Lois Huey-Heck (with Jorge Guzmán Orozco, translator)