Straw painting

[2] In ancient China, wheat was perceived as sacred; the wheat-straw patchwork were rare and were therefore only sent to the royal court as tribute.

[3][4] The craft disappeared with time as a result of social unrest and historical changes and only officially returned during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

[5] Wheat straw is smoked, steams, whitening, dyed, cut, and altered in a myriad of procedures to fashion delicate representational works.

In Mexico, straw mosaics are known as "popotillo art," from the Spanish name for sacaton grass, Sporobolus, or popote de cambray.

Before European contact, exclusively natural dyes were used and the straw was soaked in aguamiel or agave juice.

[9] Then the artist draws a design, which is then covered by a fine layer of "cera de Campeche," a special type of beeswax.