Lara on her loom. Photo by Felix Peralta
Many of you may know Lara as a popular singer-songwriter in New Mexico - her album, Land Baby, won Album of the Year in 2018 at the New Mexico Music Awards - but her talent goes well beyond the stage. A gifted weaver and designer, Lara is a favorite with the students here at Tierra Wools and the relationships that she builds with her students go well beyond the classroom. When we talked to Lara today, she had just returned from a one-on-one loom-warping session with a former student. She sat down with us to share her relationship with weaving and what she's loving about the new Tierra Wools.
Lara with one of her childhood weavings which was included in an exhibition at the Museum of International Fork Art in Santa Fe, NM.
Weaving and Tierra Wools have always been a part of Lara’s life. She was only a year old when the shop first opened and since her parents, Molly and Antonio Manzanares of Shepherd’s Lamb, were involved with Tierra Wools from the beginning, she spent much of her childhood playing under and around the looms. She learned to weave early, around age 8, from her mother and fellow Tierra Wools weavers. “It was sort of an apprentice style learning - no formal class,” Lara remembers. “The other weavers would monitor and help me as I needed it.” Becoming a weaving teacher herself gave Lara a deeper understanding of her craft. “I didn’t really think about it until I had my own class to teach and realized that I didn’t have the vocabulary to describe a lot of things I knew how to do because I learned so young.” Teaching classes helped Lara solidify her understand the ‘why’ of many weaving techniques. It was during the process of figuring out how to explain to others “why we do things in a certain way” that weaving “really started to make sense in a larger way.”
Lara got her first experience teaching weaving at the California College of Arts in Oakland where she held a teaching assistantship in the textile department. While living in California, she was able to borrow a small jack loom from a professor to satisfy her need to weave, but she always longed to be back working on one of the big Tierra Wools rug looms instead.
After moving back to New Mexico in 2016, Lara began teaching a few beginning weaving classes at Tierra Wools; she soon began teaching more, and this past year began teaching tapestry weaving as well. Lara says she enjoys watching the journey of her students as they learn new skills. “I enjoy being there for them, to show them patience, the patience that it takes to be a weaver,” she says. “I love to see the change in people, to see when they’ve internalized a new skill. You can tell that their self-confidence goes up and it’s just beautiful.”
Lara wearing one of her own creations. Photo by Molly Manzanares
In her own weavings, says Lara, “It’s difficult to move away from purples! Deep reds, violets - those colors have attracted me ever since I was in high school and it’s always a challenge to break away from that.” Her fiber of choice is Shepherd’s Lamb Rug Weight Organic Churro yarn. “I like the weight of it and how it feels working it on the loom. I enjoy detailed stuff too - tapestry work - but I like using the big Tierra Wools looms with bulky material making big sounds and getting into a corporeal rhythm - it’s a full-body experience.” She says she sometimes plans out a weaving design in detail, but most of the time she likes to keep her options open. “To me, working from a design is not as rewarding as having a loose plan that I can change as I go along.” It’s a strategy that’s proven successful: the cover of her album Land Baby, which she designed herself and which features one of her weavings, won Best Package Design in addition to Album of the Year at the 2018 New Mexico Music Awards.
Lara is excited about the new Tierra Wools because “it’s a great location for our students!” “The nature that surrounds the place, the natural beauty of the trees, the brook, I love that. It’s so inspiring for weavers to have access to that natural beauty.” She loves the welcoming feel of the new weaving studio and gallery: “The space makes the weavings feel accessible. You feel like you’re part of the experience there, not in a museum. It’s just great.”
Read more about Lara’s music and see photos of her weavings at laramanzanares.com
Lara sings while playing the spinning wheel and guitar along with band members Justin Bransford and Jordan Wax. Outpost Performance Space, Albuquerque, NM. Photo by John Rodriguez
Lara works the loom treadles while singing, along with band members Jefferson Voorhees and Justin Bransford. Outpost Performance Space, Albuquerque, NM. Photo by John Rodriguez