Yanet Salazar Carillo
Yanet Salazar Carillo
Yanet Salazar Carrillo, is a 42 year old Kummeyaay/Kumiay woman, native of San Jose de la Zorra, Baja California. Specializing in basket weaving and handcraft works, Carrillo began creating at a precocious young age of 12. Everyday Carrillo would walk 2 hours there to learn from Antonia Carrillo as, “she was a lady who had the patience to teach me how to weave.” Learning from her, Carrillo began to create, starting with small pieces, such as medallions, bracelets, and earrings.
With years of experience, Carrillo is now an experienced artisan of willow, pine and reed, able to create beautiful works such as her Snake Basket (2021) seen here. In Carrillo’s own words:
“I myself collect the materials for the creation of my pieces and this is a long process. To work with reed, it must be collected at full moon, [as] it cannot be done at any other time [otherwise,] the material is not useful for weaving. We let it dry for 6 months in the sun without any humidity. The red color of the piece is natural, coming from the root of the reed. The black is a dye found from natural plants that we find in the community. To this day I am very proud to be an artisan who can continue in the creation of Kumiay culture. I am also proud to be able to share the teachings my ancestors gave me, with the children and young people of the community…Every craft has a story about what I see around me.
IVDM is excited to have 3 weaved baskets created by Carrillo on display as part of Native Voices | Native Truths: A Contemporary Experience.
You can find Carrillo on Facebook @Yanet Salazar Carrillo.
Snake Basket, 2021
juncus plant, basket weaving
12.5 in x 1.5 in
Every craft has a story about what I see around me.
This piece of reed is unique, its name being “Kumiay is sawil.” Used as a tool to clean seeds, its design is a black snake that in Kumiay we call “awi ñir.” It also has a sun woven into it, in Kumiay we call “ña” as it was made in the hot season. The black circle on the edge represents the hills and roads. The arrow means that I always must walk forward. It took me six months to make create this piece. Beginning in May of 2021 and finishing it in October of the same year, I would work on it every day for approximately 7 hours.
Multicolored Mariposa Basket, 2023
juncus plant, basket weaving
12 in x 1.5 in
Each year, during March I watch the monarch butterflies that have a red-orange and black color pass through the community, so in this piece I decided to weave these butterflies. I started this piece March 2023 and finished it in August 2023, working approximately 7 hours every day.
Mariposa Flower Basket, 2023
juncus plant, basket weaving
12 in x 1.5 in
In my community there are flowers called "valeriana" which are white in the spring, and when the hot season starts, they dry up and start to turn red. In this piece I wanted to weave these flowers, and the butterflies that fly around them. I started weaving this piece in January 2023, finishing in June of the same year. I worked on it every day for approximately 7 hours.