8 These layers, captured sensations, warps and wefts were now ready to be preserved and expanded into surfaces of gold . Plaiting, weaving and joining the different golden strands, strips and chords allowed me to curve, bend and drape gold freely. However, to fulfill my visions of vast imaginary land- scapes, I wanted larger quantities of these woven golden ele- ments. Tomake them, I needed additional hands with a certain state of mind; a certain pace, silence, concentration and love for the craft. Each of these hearts had to have a unique skill, be it weaving, cutting, soaking in tea, applying gesso or rice-paper, painting or gilding, burnishing or stitching. For the last 25 years I have worked with seven lives, four- teen hands-seven women who infuse each small element with Colombia´s vitality. The communal process impregnates each bundle of strands with the spirit of each of these women’s lives; each element acquires a unique patina, as does the knob on the door to a frequented room. These layers of work and time finally affect the surface quality. It is difficult to explain what happens in that space. The time, the changes, the choices, the pace of the work, the silence or music, the personal stories… This team of weavers, this place, is my strongest and deepest connection with my country. To me they embody Colombia. With them I manage to make quantities of these elaborate threads and long lines of material which I call strands, strips or chords . After 25 years this small intimate process still surprises me. I have to take these strands and weave them together again and again into larger pieces—to reach a recondite understanding. As I build these surfaces, I create spaces of meditation, contem- plation and reflection. Every small unit that forms the surface is not only significant in itself, but it is also deeply resonant of the whole. Likewise, the whole is deeply resonant of each individual element. 10. Alquimia 88, 2000. 9. Coils of strips ready for use. 12. Woven Wall, 1970. 11. Alquimia 90, 2000.