Weaving in Beauty

A Sandy Begay Burnham Pictorial at last year's Pueblo Grande Navajo Rug Auction	Barbara Teller Ornelas at last year's Gathering of Weavers
You can see why there is no way that I will miss either of these events.

 Tempe, AZ  If you take a look at the calendar on the left, you’ll see why my weekend is shaping up to be really, really busy.  Here in the Phoenix area, out of the whole year, there are two big events in Navajo weaving.  One is the Gathering of Weavers at the Heard Museum and the second is the Pueblo Grande Museum Navajo Rug Auction.  This year, they’re both taking place on the same day.  At the same time.   At least they’re both events that last several hours and they’re conveniently on the new light rail line.  The Pueblo Grande auction also has a preview on Friday evening, starting at 5 PM, so I’m going to take advantage of that.  Then, I’m planning to be at the Heard event at when it opens at 10 AM Saturday and then dash back across town for the rug auction Saturday afternoon.  It’ll be a little frantic, but I’ll tough it out and I hope that enough other weaving enthusiasts make the effort to attend these events to make them both successful because they’re both important. 

To participate in the Heard Museum Gathering of Weavers, a weaver or someone representing the weaver has to be present at the museum in Phoenix.  That’s a long trip and a daunting expense for a lot of weavers, but the museum doesn’t charge anything to the artist unless they sell a weaving.  That really helps financially and it’s a model that has been successful since the event started three years ago.  It is a wonderful opportunity to meet weavers and see demonstrations of spinning, weaving and dyeing.   This year both Mark Winter and Bill Malone will also be signing books. 

The rugs sold at the Pueblo Grande event are largely consigned by weavers who can’t make the trip to an event like the Heard, but that doesn’t make their skills or artistry any less amazing.  The auction is conducted by Bruce Burnham and Hank Blair, who are both remarkable resources on Native American art and darn good story tellers.  The auction also features vintage pieces that are fascinating to examine.   The Pueblo Grande auction has raised thousands of dollars for both the weavers and the support of the museum, built on a fascinating Hohokam site.  

You can probably sense the frustration that I feel that two events run by great institutions seem to be in competition rather than cooperating with each other but sometimes people with good intentions just don’t see the issues that they’re creating.  To be fair, it was probably Pueblo Grande’s job, because their event has previously been later in November.  It seems to me that a few scheduling tweaks could have been made turned the timing clash  into a great celebration of Navajo weaving.   That missed opportunity this time around is really, really unfair to the people who are supposed to benefit: the weavers.  If you’re in the Phoenix area, I hope to see you at the Heard, Pueblo Grande or both and let’s encourage the organizers to get together the next time around!   See you Saturday!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Gilbert Begay

Albuquerque, NM   One of Gilbert Begay’s handwoven bags, probably similar in design to the one above  has taken top honors at the New Mexico State Fair.  An ecstatic Gilbert posted on Facebook tonight  “I won First Place on my Handwoven bag and Second Place on my Navajo Sash Belt….. Bah Hozho Shi Dine’e!!!! For those who own my handwoven bags…. remember… they are Award Winning!! Cherish them… Weave in Beauty… I am very Happy… Enjoy your Evening….”   

Gilbert will also be entering some of his weaving at the upcoming Friends of Hubbell Native American Arts Auction.  His prizewinning bag is for sale through the New Mexico State Fair at $160, but watch out for the deep fried treats if you try to wear it home!   Gilbert has developed a great niche market for his small bags and it is really gratifying to see them getting this kind of recognition. 

Gilbert is from Crownpoint, New Mexico and learned to weave from his grandmother.  He works for Safeway in Farmington, NM and weaves prodigiously when he is not on his day job . 

I hope to see Gilbert at the Crownpoint Rug Auction tomorrow evening and for sure at next week’s Hubbell event.  Congratulations, Gilbert!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

GPS:  I’m headed for Crownpoint tomorrow and to Moab, Utah on Saturday for the Canyonlands Natural History Navajo Rug Auction.  Road trip! 

Laramie Blake with one her weavings

Tempe, AZ  Regular readers have noticed that I’ve been going to Chinle a lot lately and I promised to let you know why.  Well, I’ve been part of a little team of weavers who have been helping a young fellow weaver make the transition to college.  Spider Rock Girl Laramie Blake has started classes and is interested in both business and dental hygiene, but she’s just now beginning to grasp the opportunities that a college education can provide.    With the enthusiastic help of Weaving in Beauty alumnus Niccole Cerveny, who overcame any obstacle that crossed our path, we were able to find a program for Laramie that has great support for Native American students and she was really pleased to see so many students from back home.  She’s also making new friends, learning her way around this big city environment and has already developed a taste for Five Guys cheeseburgers. 

Laramie is at the start of a long journey that fewer than eight percent of Navajo people complete: the road to a bachelor’s degree.  She’s got great support from her family and the friends that she’s made.  Like any young person leaving home, she’s a little scared and nervous, but she’s got a lot of courage.   Like her nursing student sister LaVera, she’ll be weaving to help support her education and plans to have a loom up soon.  She says that there’s a particular design that she has in mind, so we’ll see what she’s planning!  

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker 

Sierra Ornelas (right) with Mom, Barbara (center) and brother Michael Ornelas. Sierra is the weaver of the tapestry on the loom and one of the writers of the new ABC comedy "Happy Endings".

Tempe, AZ The weaving Teller-Ornelas family will be glued to their television sets tomorrow evening when the new comedy “Happy Endings” premieres on ABC.  Sierra Ornelas, Barbara Teller Ornelas’ multi-talented daughter Sierra Ornelas is one of the writers for the series, which explores modern relationships.  The show is on after “Modern Family” at 9:30 Eastern and Pacific time, 8:30 Central and Mountain time.    Sierra is also an accomplished weaver of the 100 weft count tapestries that her family is famous for.   Congratulations on the premiere, Sierra!   I hope the show is a big hit!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Weaver, shepherd and chapter president Roy Kady is celebrating his birthday today!

Teec Nos Pos, AZ Master weaver Roy Kady is celebrating his birthday today.  Although it’s a little late in the day, I wanted to wish him a happy day and a great year to come.  As you can see above, Roy is a fantastic weaver.  He also maintains a large flock of Navajo-Churro sheep and is the president of the Teec Nos Pos Chapter.  A chapter is a basic unit of Navajo government and in this capacity, Roy is introducing great innovations which emphasize self-sufficiency and environmental responsibility.  Among his projects is the Baa Baad W00l Co-op, which aims to bring wool processing back to Navajo land.  Last year. Roy was selected to represent the Navajo Nation as a cultural ambassador to Ecuador, and he’s been asked to return next year.

Nízhónígo naníná doo, Roy!  May you walk in beauty.

Melissa Cody with her colorful contemporary Germantown design	Marilou Schultz spins under the watchful eye of her mother, Martha Schultz
From left, the tapestry weaving family of Michael Ornelas, Barbara Teller Ornelas and Sierra Ornelas
Click on any picture for a closer view

Phoenix, AZ The Phoenix Chamber of Commerce cranked up some of the best weather in memory for the 52nd Heard Museum Indian Market, which concluded yesterday.   It was warm, but not too warm, there were breezes but it was not windy and it was blessedly free of rain.  As you might expect, by afternoon the crowds were getting thick.  By arriving when the gates opened, I was able to get time to chat with many of the weavers there before other shoppers arrived.

The Market tends to put artists in similar locations each year, which helps to locate people without depending too much on the brochure.  Morris Muskett’s booth was my first stop and he had a selection of jewelry and small weavings that were very, very tempting.  Photographs of Morris work are shown exclusively on his web site, so be sure to visit him to see what he’s been working on.  Just don’t get too fond of that red spiny oyster pendant because I have my eye on it.

D.Y. Begay shared a booth with her twin sisters, Berdine Begay and Berdina Charley.  Each has a distinctive style that is eye catching and contemporary.  D.Y. uses her own vegetally dyed yarns for her work.  Her dye materials range from plants native to the Southwest to black beans from WalMart.  D.Y. has been traveling extensively in Central and South America and is trying to get the time to organize her pictures and other materials from her journeys.  You can see Berdine, Berdina, D.Y. and their work in the gallery below.

Marilou Schultz and her mother Martha were in the booth next to D.Y. and her sisters, so that was an easy stroll.  Marilou is not one to sit in a booth without doing something and she was busy spinning as her mom looked on (center picture above).  Marilou had a great assortment of handspun rugs and her variegated yarns.  You can also see more of Marilou’s work at her website and in the picture gallery below.

Last year, rain prevented me from getting a clear picture of Melissa Cody’s contemporary version of the Germantown Eyedazzler.  This year, she graciously posed with one of her smaller pieces as you’ll see at the upper left.  Melissa does a kind of blocking of the somewhat fluffy Germantown yarns that she uses by winding them into tight balls that she keeps under tension for up to a year before she uses them.   She had sold a larger piece that was more complex than the one that she is posing with.  Melissa is part of the growing group of younger weavers who pursue their weaving as fine artists while maintaining a full time career in other fields, in Melissa’s case in the allied field of museum curation.

Sierra Ornelas, Barbara Teller Ornelas‘ daughter is also part of this two career trend, living in Los Angeles and working as a writer for a television show.  Brother Michael, however,  is weaving full time and doing detailed framed small pieces.  Almost every weaver that I stopped to talk with had small “recession rugs” that reflect the effect of the economy and the determination of the weavers to adapt to it.  The Ornelas’ reported that they’d had a very good market and had very few pieces left on Sunday morning.

Leaving the Ornelas family, I stopped by Linda Taylor’s booth and she had some time to chat about her detailed tapestry work as well as her work as an illustrator.  Linda did the drawings for the book Wisdom Weaver by Jann Johnson.  The story details the process of weaving a Navajo rug and the love between a young girl and her grandmother.  The tale is told both in English and Navajo and is published by Salina Bookshelf, which specializes in books for the Navajo market.  You can see Linda with the book in the gallery below.

I went on to visit with Geneva Shabi, Brenda Spencer, TahNiibaa Naataanii, Phil Singer, Gilbert Begay, and Jason Harvey and I’ll write more about my visits with them on Wednesday.  I’ll leave you with the full gallery of the weavers and their work and we’ll have more of an in depth visit with each of them in  part two of this article.

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