Carlos Rosa

THE WEAVER
FROM THE ALENTEJO

 

“This art comes from my family, which boasts 300 years of weaving or activities connected to yarn,” says weaver Carlos Rosa, from the Alentejo, born in 1958. When he got back from France in 1985, he was invited to take part in a weaving course, which he says he “naturally” embraced, while recognising that he “fell in love with weaving and with this wonderful art of warps and wefts”. 30 years have now passed in the craft industry, weaving, travelling the globe to take part in local, regional, national and international exhibitions and fairs. He takes with him music and singing, his other passion. What fascinates him? “It’s the connection with the yarn, with the warp, with the weaving, which ensure that every day is different. It is the music, the song of weaving, which means that even when working alone, you never get bored. It is the diversity of an art that fills our lives with its demands and with its countless possibilities and the challenges it presents.”  He has a very political attitude to his profession. He would like more to be done in the craft industry. He fears that traditional arts will end up disappearing, “and all that will be left will be companies and major concerns already enrooted in the market”. He says that no investments are made into training young people, “arts and crafts are not promoted or encouraged and little by little arts and craftspeople will disappear”.  He wonders about the future of arts and crafts in a society model he considers “economics-based”.