Popotillo Art…Straw Art

Popotillo (little straw) is the craft of creating colorful images using the thin stalks of various grasses. 

This beautiful craft is labor intensive. An 8×10 image can take 2 or 3 days, depending on the complexity and all the space that must be covered in straw.

The use of the hands, or in the case of very tiny pieces, tweezers to place the bits of colored lines has not changed, but there has been some modernization. Traditionally, the straw or grass is collected, dried and colored either by the crafts person. Originally, vegetable dyes were used and straw colored this way still can be found, but most are now colored using aniline dyes, as the color lasts longer.

The straw pieces are applied on paper, poster board or other surfaces, not by cutting the straw first, but rather applying the straw and snapping it where the artisan wants the line to end. The traditional adhesive is beeswax or Campeche wax, but other glues are sometimes used. After the image is completed, it is usually coated to make it shine. In the past, this was done using egg whites, but today commercial varnish is used.

Popotillo crafts are truly works of art and can be admired and purchased at Coast Hwy Traders.

Coast Hwy Traders

530 S Coast Hwy 101

Encinitas Ca

760-944-1381