Weaving in Beauty

Phil Singer Shows his Fancy Manta I	Brenda Spencer's Burntwater design has a Teec Nos Pos like geometry
Jason Harvey at the Heard Indian Market. The weavings in the background are by Jason. Click on any picture to enlarge it.

Phoenix, AZ Let’s visit with a few more weavers at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Market!  Heading toward the east side of the show, I stopped and talked with Geneva Scott Shabi and her sister Brenda Spencer.  Geneva’s large Ganado Red Wide Ruins rug was sporting a large and well deserved ribbon. Click here to see Geneva with the rug. Usually a weaver in the Wide Ruins style, Geneva’s sister, Brenda Spencer had chosen a bordered Burntwater design evocative of Teec Nos Pos patterns, but with a very contemporary feel.  You can see Brenda with the rug at the top right. I was surprised to see it without a ribbon, but that doesn’t mean I’m volunteering to judge rugs!  I’d still be over at the Heard trying to make a decision!

On my way to see TahNiibaa Naataanii, I saw Phil Singer (pictured at top left). Phil is a thoughtful and innovative weaver who dyes many of his own yarns. This always lends extra dimension to the work, although I can attest to the extra time involved! Phil has started a new series of Fancy Manta weavings and he’s holding the first one in the picture above. He’s about to move back to Kayenta to help care for his elderly parents, but promises to stay in touch. The Heard show is the largest one that he participates in each year, but also expects to be at the Museum of Northern Arizona Navajo Festival of Arts and Culture on August 6th and 7th in Flagstaff.

TahNiibaa Naataanii with her prize-winning Second Phase Chief Blanket

TahNiibaa’s booth was what you might call mobbed with I got there.  TahNiibaa is doing wet felting on silk and decorated silk scarves that are very popular.  You can see some of them in the background of the picture at left.  These smaller pieces give her a lower priced and desirable item to sell while still allowing her the time to concentrate on a large weaving.  Her prize winning and classic Second Phase Chief design was done with commercial Brown Sheep wool and was expertly executed.  If you’re a weaver, you know that Brown Sheep can be very fuzzy and this piece showed none of that.  TahNiibaa hopes for the day when Navajo woven textiles will be more commonly used as wearable art, and I’m a real proponent of that as well.  In addition to her weaving, TahNiibaa is working as the Project Director  for Dibé Bé Iiná, and is working organize their Sheep is Life Celebration June 20th through 25th in Tsaile, AZ.

The Market was getting really crowded when I began to make my way back to the front gate.  I had heard a rumor that Gilbert Begay had arrived and I wanted to see if he had any of his woven bags.  It was getting difficult to navigate the aisles in the tent where Gilbert had his booth, but I don’t think that I seriously injured anyone trying to get there.  Gilbert was busy spinning and I selected a Ganado Red bag for the Mercantile.   It’s done with commercial Brown Sheep and is probably about 7″ x 9″ (somewhat larger than Gilbert’s other bags).  It will sell for $196.00 and you can contact me if you’re interested.  Click here to see a picture of Gilbert with the bag.

The dark browns in this Jason Harvery Burnwater are from black walnuts. Move your mouse over the picture for a closer view.

As I was leaving, I had a nice talk with Jason Harvey, who is pictured at the lower center in the photos at the top of this article. Jason does a lot of work with contemporary representations of traditional patterns, but he also had a terrific small Burntwater that he said he’d done to get back to his roots. You’ll see it at the right and be sure to mouse over the picture to see some of the detail. Jason said that the dark brown was dyed with walnuts, which give one of the richest versions of the color under the right conditions. Jason wasn’t sure of some of the other dye sources, a problem that I have because I seldom label my results. D.Y. Begay has my admiration for the careful labeling and recordkeeping that she does.

As I was driving home, I realized that I had not had a chance to stop to see Sallie Parker or Sylvia Begaye.  I have some pictures of their work that I’ll share with you in my next article.  I also could not get anywhere near top weaving prize winner Charlene Laughing’s booth.  I’ll have to make up for that at Indian Market!

Rena Robertson's Summer Ceremonial Faces rug.

Tempe, AZ September’s Crownpoint Rug Auction was relatively small  (130 rugs) and was attended by about 45 buyers.   There are quite a few auctions at this time of year and they continue up to December with one of the major events being held at Hubbell Trading Post this coming weekend on September 18th.   Many of the weavers who did bring their work to Crownpoint in this month are doing very high quality weaving and some of it is very unique.  I am a real fan of Rena Robertson’s asymmetric pictorials and I was lucky enough to get two of her pieces.  One of them was a stunning Blue Canyon that is already sold, but the other is pictured above.  It’s one of her Faces series and is a montage of the summer nights in Diné Bikeyah (the Navajo homeland).  I also purchased two of Nellie Glasses’ pieces, a handspun small Two Grey Hills by Gilbert Begay and an immaculate and finely woven striped piece by Gloria Begay.   Gilbert and Gloria live in Crownpoint, but Rena and Nellie had each driven over 200 miles to the auction and were planning to return home that night.

I had a great time acquainting travel writer Neala Schwartzberg with the auction.  Neala covers offbeat travel destinations for New Mexico magazine and Examiner.com and she really gets into what she’s covering, or at least she did with the rug auction.  She talked with several of the weavers, some of the buyers and she even quoted me accurately! Maybe I can get her over to the Sheep is Life Celebration in Tsaile for another article (they do an auction too, Neala).  Neala’s got some great advice on previewing before you bid and she’s included some excellent pictures in the article that she wrote about the auction for Examiner.com .  It’s one of their features on things to do that are off the beaten path or in this case, 25 miles north of I-40.

A couple of detail sections of Rena’s rug appear below.  The rug is woven with both Brown Sheep and Burnham’s Trading Post yarns and measures 19.25″ x 27″.

One of the Mittens in Rena's weaving

A detail of the Face motif in Rena Robertson's rug

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Jennie Slick demonstrates Navajo weaving at Convergence 2010 in Albuquerque

Window Rock, Navajo Nation It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for Jennie Slick and me and a time that we will always remember.  Last week, we were at the Handweaver’s Guild of America’s Convergence 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico where we taught several classes, visited with old friends and met many, many new ones.  We were absolutely awed by the interest in Navajo textiles shown by the participants in our workshop and classes and by the people who stopped by our booth to watch as Jennie created a small weaving on a C-Cactusflower loom.   We saw several people who have attended our Weaving in Beauty classes here in Window Rock and one of them, Arlene Anderson even brought her finished class rug to show us.  You can see Arlene below with Jennie.  Other alumni stopping by were Marsha Herr and Jean Walbridge.

Arlene Anderson and Jennie Slick with Arlene's completed Weaving in Beauty class rug

Our Convergence experience included coordinating and teaming with Morris Muskett and Rose Dedman to teach a Navajo weaving class attended by a mind boggling 51 people.  The class was divided into three groups led by Morris, Rose and Jennie.  Volunteers Pat Thalhauser, Sarah Zapata and I circulated among all the groups  to provide extra support for the students.   Students used small looms made from heavy duty canvas stretcher bars and most took their looms with them.   As instructors, we were challenged and thrilled by the response of the students, who warped their looms, started the weaving process and headed home with their work in progress and new insights into the world of Navajo weaving.

Convergence also featured an exciting Navajo rug auction with auctioneer Hank Blair of R.B. Burnham and Co. Native Auctions.   There were 201 lots and about 75% of the items sold with competitive bidding.  Weavers Nathan Harry and Gilbert Begay stopped by to watch their work being sold.  Gilbert, an expert spinner, created yarn for a new weaving as one of his handspun bags found a home during the sale.   Because the Burnham’s were doing another auction the same day, they were short a bid spotter in their auction team so they got a short bid spotter: me.  It’s so much fun it shouldn’t even be legal.

The Convergence vendor hall was a wonderland of goodies for people like us, but we didn’t have very much time to take in the offerings.  Jennie and I realized on our way back to Gallup that we’d forgotten to check out the comfort footwear booth and I never got a chance to get back to see weaving tool makers Al Snipes and Jim Hockett.  So many people were going to C-Cactusflower loom maker Caroline Spurgeon’s booth after seeing Jennie weave that she stopped by with a nice gift for Jennie.  Thanks, Caroline!  Diné bé Iiná (Sheep is Life) had a beautiful booth featuring TahNiBaa Naataanii, Beverly Allen, Sarah Natani and other weavers and Marilou Schultz’s booth featured her incredible hand-dyed trading post yarns.

If you’re thinking that we had a good time in spite of doing a lot of work, you’re very perceptive.  Would we do it again?  Well, we might ask for one more day with those 51 students.  We might have changed a few details of a couple of things, but we’re already talking about a couple of fiber festivals that we might do next year.   After we catch up on our sleep and laundry.

We’re in the middle of two weeks of classes here in Window Rock, with one class leaving tomorrow and a our Camp Weave-A-Lot Advanced Seminar starting Monday.  I’ll catch you up on last week’s class starting on Monday.  I’ll leave with with a picture of Gilbert Begay, Hank Blair and Nathan Harry taken after the auction last Saturday night.    Thank you HGA for the opportunity to participate in this year’s Convergence!

From let, Gilbert Begay, Hank Blair and Nathan Harry after the Convergence 2010 Navajo Rug Auction

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Roy Kady will exhibit his work at the University of Denver, April 2-22, 2010. (Photo courtesy of University of Denver)

Denver, CO Navajo master weaver Roy Kady will show his work from April 2nd -22nd in an exhibit titled Na’ashjé’ii Biką’ Biyiin (Chant of the Male Spider). Roy is co-curating the exhibit with Teresa Montoya (Diné), a graduate student in the University of Denver’s Department of Anthropology.  Set within the context of Navajo weaving, Roy will share his personal stories, experiences, creative inspirations and work in an environment where visitors are invited to touch, smell and participate in the experience of weaving.

Roy is a truly engaging and inspirational person to meet and is generous in sharing his culture and work.  In the past, he has been a key participant in the Diné bé Iiná (Sheep is Life) organization and he is now the chapter president in his home community of Teec Nos Pos, Arizona.  The chapter is the basic unit of Navajo tribal government and is roughly analogous to a hybrid of town and county, with each chapter a distinct legal unit with the right to form binding contracts.  As if being the chapter president and an active weaver weren’t enough, Roy also cares for his large flock of sheep and goats.  You can learn more about Roy and his family at his beautiful and informative web site, Dinewoven.com.

The exhibit opens on April 2nd at Sturm Hall on the University of Denver campus and runs through the 22nd of April.  The opening reception on April 2nd, from 5:30-8:00 PM, will feature a weaving demonstration with Roy, a discussion of the religious aspects of the weaving process by Anderson Hoskie, and a sampling of foods based on the traditional Navajo diet prepared by chef Freddie Bitsoie.  Foods will include Churro lamb, blue corn puree, butternut squash tarts and Navajo tea.

Click here for further details on the exhibit from our events calendar.

Roy is looking forward to seeing both new and old friends in Denver and is busy working to finish a Guardians weaving similar to the one that he’s holding in the picture below from last year’s Heard Museum Indian Market.

Roy Kady holds a Guardians weaving at the 2009 Heard Museum Indian Market.

Oh and one more thing!  Happy Birthday, Roy!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Marie H. Yazzie (left) and her daughter Marilyn demonstrate weaving and spinning at the Scottsdale ArtWalk

Scottsdale, AZ The busy Heard Museum Indian Market weekend kicked off on Thursday, March 4, with the weekly ArtWalk giving special attention to the many Native American artists and craftsman who were in the Phoenix area for this large annual event.  Both artists and attendees travel thousands of miles to be at the market, so I felt very fortunate that it’s near my home.

Mark Winter, the trader at  Toadlena Trading Post, in Toadlena, New Mexico, had even rented a storefront on Scottsdale’s Main St. for the weekend and I enjoyed chatting with weaver Marie H. Yazzie and her daughter Marilyn, pictured above.  Marie does not speak English conversationally, so I got to practice a bit of Diné bizaad (the Navajo language).  Marie said I did pretty well for a bilagáana (white person).  At least I think that’s what she said.  Marie weaves handspun Two Grey Hills designs and also does round Sandpainting pieces as you can see in the picture below.  The larger rug is a depiction of Mother Earth and Father Sky, which has always been one of my favorite sandpainting images.

Round weavings by Marie H. Yazzie among other Two Grey Hills style work

I asked Mark how he was doing on his much anticipated Master Weavers book, the culmination of over 20 years of work with Two Grey Hills weavers and he told me that he expected to have it done by summer and possibly by May, in time for the opening of an exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum.  I’ll certainly keep you posted on that.   Jackson Clarke II of the Toh-Atin Gallery in Durango, Colorado stopped by as Mark and I were talking and I got a nice picture of both of them, which you’ll see below.

Jackson Clarke (left) and Mark Winter (right)

I also stopped at the Old Territorial Shop and Turkey Mountain Traders during the evening, so we’ll stroll there next, but it might be Saturday or Sunday before we get there!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Lynda Teller Pete demonstrates weaving at last year's Southwest Indian Art Fair

Tucson, AZ Just a quick post to let you know that the Desert Diamond Casino, owned by the Tohono O’odham tribe, has stepped in to reschedule and sponsor the previously cancelled Southwest Indian Art Fair.   Information on the event and artist applications are available by clicking here.  Thanks to Mary Weinzirl for letting me know!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker