Weaving in Beauty

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Emily Malone isnt sure what Pam Root's next weaving move should be...	Emily moves in to help, but Pam's wondering what she was thinking then she signed up for this....	All's well that weaves well, and with Emily's help, Pam decision is looking very wise!

Tempe, AZ The day after our visit to HGA’s Convergence 2010 ended, Jennie Slick and I started a week long class in Window Rock.  What lunatic schedules these class marathons?  Me, that’s who.  It seemed to make sense last year when I put it on the calendar, and thanks to a great group of students, it turned out to be another wonderful week of weaving on the Navajo Nation.  Our students came from as far away as Australia for this session.  We had our share of beautiful rainy weather that we dodged pretty successfully by taking our field trips in the morning and watching the weather reports.  We even made it into Canyon de Chelly on the last day before the weather closed the tours there down for a couple of weeks.

The Spider Rock Girls came by for a visit and so did Gilbert Begay, Nathan Harry, Herman and Lula Brown,  and the wonderful and encouraging members of the Navajo community who came through the classroom with stories about the ways that weaving has been part of their lives and still is.  You can see the impromptu consultation that Spider Rock Girl Emily Malone did with class member Pam Root in the triptych of pictures above.   Pam finished that rug by the end of the week, too.   Of course, there may be some magic in the yarn that we get at R.B. Burnham and Co.!

We had a wonderful visit with Mark Winter and Linda Larouche at the Toadlena Trading Post and with Shirley Brown at Two Grey Hills.  By the time that we all said good-bye on Sunday, two weavings had been completed, multiple weavings had been purchased (along with no small amount of jewelry) and we were reveling in the spirit of a class that to the Navajo way of thinking will go on as long as there is anyone to remember it.  You can see our class picture below, and you can click here to view the full picture gallery of 38 pictures.

Our July, 2011 class. From row from left are Mary Walker, Pam Anderson, Patricia Whitney, Pam Root and Jennie Slick. Back row from left, Teri Taylor (and Rowdy), Paula Pavlovic, Ana Pavlovic, Bonnie Rangel and Linda Marie Golier

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Rose Yazzie works with a traditional hip spindle during the Friends of Hubbell Native American Arts Auction

Window Rock, AZ All of the students from our May class have headed home and most of them are already there.  I’m still in Window Rock to take care of a few errands and I’ll be heading back to the Phoenix area today.  I’ll be writing about the class this week, but I wanted to say thank you to the students and to the many, many members of the Navajo Nation who dropped by to say hello while our class was in session.

Our class ended with a trip to the Friends of Hubbell Native American Arts Auction at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.  It’s one of the largest Native American auction events in the country and is held twice a year (the next auction will be on September 18, 2010).  Spider Rock Girl Rose Yazzie sat with our group and gave us a hip spindle demonstration as she watched the auction.   I thought that Roses’s picture would be a good one to leave with you as I head home.

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Virginia Burnham holds a Wide Ruins rug by Myrtle Francis. Behind her is a Germantown Revivial by Rose Yazzie.

Window Rock, AZ The snow is gone!  Today, our class took a field trip to R.B. Burnham and Company Trading Post in Sanders, Arizona.  Burnham’s features yarns that are custom-spun for Navajo weaving, and it is always a favorite stop for our classes.  Virginia Burnham spent some time showing us some of the rugs currently in their gallery.  Above you can see her holding a spectacular Wide Ruins rug by Myrtle Francis.  The yarn in this rug is Brown Sheep sport weight yarn that is re-spun.  Behind Virginia, you can see part of a Germantown Revival rug woven by Rose Yazzie.

We made the 60 mile trip back to Window Rock via Indian Route 12, which boasts some of the most photogenic scenery on the Navajo Nation.  Below, you can see a picture of Teapot Rock.  Tomorrow, we’re scheduled to try our hand at the dyepot.   Let’s hope that it’s a good day to dye!

Teapot Rock is a sandstone formation the can be seen on Indian Route 12. It's about six miles north of Lupton, AZ.

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

A snowy morning in May at the Quality Inn in Window Rock.

Window Rock, AZ Our May weaving class started off in a spring snow storm this morning.   It was still snowing this evening, but the temperature is expected to rise tomorrow and we’re hoping for a return to more springlike weather.  In the meantime, we had a chance to capture some out of season beauty with our cameras and we got our looms warped.  Weather permitting, we’ll visit R.B. Burnham and Co. in Sanders tomorrow.

Spring snow at the Window Rock

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Weaver and silversmith Morris Muskett is offering classes in Navajo and allied weaving techniques.

Albuquerque, NM Master weaver and silversmith Morris Musket is beginning to offer classes in Navajo and other indigenous weaving techniques.  He is currently working with one private student and will work with you to arrange classes in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area.  He’s also willing to do combined class/tour events and will travel to your area by arrangement.

Morris is extremely knowledgeable in the history and breadth of Navajo techniques and incorporates ideas and influences from other creative traditions into his very original work.  He is a wonderful ambassador for and interpreter of the Navajo culture and his willingness to teach creates a powerful new opportunity for students to both expand and deepen their weaving experience.   You can read more about Morris’ thoughts on teaching at his web site and you can contact him for more information on the curriculum that he’s developing. Pssst, he’s offering you the chance to meet Noel Bennett and Ramona Sakiestewa!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Tempe, AZ There are a lot of people stopping by here on a regular basis who are interested in learning to weave Navajo style.  Back in December, one of the more avid students and I engaged in some conjecture about whether it would be effective to do an online class, and we came to the conclusion that it was worth a try and would effectively help to use up any spare time that I was contemplating having.  I bought a subscription to WebEx, a new version of Adobe Acrobat and a really swell rolling computer stand.   I developed a syllabus that was roughly similar to what we do in a week in Window Rock and put the class on the site one Saturday morning at 8 AM.  I took off for the Fiber Factory to teach a class for them and by noon, the online class was full and I had an a lot of email from other prospective students who wanted to give the virtual class a try.    I was totally unprepared for that level of interest, but it was certainly better than getting a cosmic shrug!

The eight intrepid students, my writing partner Liz Munk and I started the class on January 31.  We originally planned five sessions, but we weren’t really tied to a particular timetable.  I tried to use streaming video to demonstrate the weaving and we quickly found that we had real problems with screen freezing assaults on bandwidth.  We also had to work through some severe audio feedback issues and I was really unsure that the format was one that would allow the students to learn effectively.   Still, the students were positively encouraging and we started working on some changes in the format that allowed students to access the video on demand and evolved a session agenda that blends a discussion and slide show of the technique being covered that week, a review of each student’s progress and work on solving problems and answering questions.

At the end of our session, everyone agreed that the class had helped them to succeed and progress on some level and so I’m pleased to announce a new session of the class as well as a private class option for those who can’t make the meeting time or who would prefer one on one attention.  The multi-student class will begin on May 16th with follow-on sessions on May 23, May 30, June 6 and June 20.   The two week gap will hopefully allow students enough time to get to the finishing point in their projects.  Students should expect to spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours in each session.  To limit issues with bandwidth, we’ll meet in two groups.  The early group will meet at 2:00 PM EDT, 1:00 PM CDT, 12:00 PM MDT, 11:00 AM PDT.  A second group will meet at 4:30 PM EDT, 3:30 PM CDT, 2:30 PM MDT and 1:30 PM PDT.  Each group will be limited to four people.   Students need to have access to a computer with a web cam, microphone and a high speed Internet connection.   The charge for the class is $75 and includes access to online materials and a private page on my web site for the duration of the class so that it’s easy to post pictures and communicate with me or other classmates.   You can register for the early class time  here and for the later time here (update: the later session is full).

The private class tuition is $125 and scheduling is subject to my textile conservation business requirements and other class commitments.   Got a friend who wants to learn with you?  You can register for a two student session at $100 each.   You should expect to spend two hours in the first session and one hour to 90 minutes in the following sessions.  Private students must complete their session within eight weeks unless my schedule does not permit it.  My generally available hours are 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM MST on weekdays, and 7:oo PM to 9:00 PM MST on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Saturday and Sunday scheduling is possible depending on other commitments that I have.  If you’re interested in doing this, please contact me before you register so that we’re sure that the scheduling will work.   If you can’t get in touch with me prior to registering, I’ll immediately refund your tuition if we can’t find a mutually agreeable time to meet.     I’m going to limit private student enrollment to four students or teams right now, with potential class sessions starting on May 11.  You can register here for a singe private student slot and here for a two student session.  If you want to participate in a two student session, it’s your responsibility to find and coordinate with the second student.  The course is geared toward five fingered carbon based life forms who live in the Cygnus Arm of this galaxy, but as long as your fellow student can meet the computer requirements, you’ll find I’m pretty flexible.

Please comment or contact me if you have questions!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker