Weaving in Beauty

Jennie Slick assists Kathleen Higham with her weaving at last year's Bear Lake Boot Camp

Tempe, AZ Update: The workshop is full as of March 9, but please contact Mary Walker or Deby Pendleton if you would like to be on our waiting list.

I’m happy to announce that plans have been finalized for the fifth Navajo Weaving Boot Camp workshop at Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border.   We’ll be weaving at the Utah State University Training Facility starting on Sunday afternoon, June 13th and we’ll keep weaving as much as humanly possible until about noon on Wednesday, June 16th.  The workshop is open to students of any skill level.   Students will be provided with plans for building a loom or you can purchase one from the workshop organizers.   Use of tools is included in the workshop tuition and tools and yarns will be available for purchase.

Tuition for the three day workshop is $350 and includes dormitory style sleeping accommodations, three delicious meals per day featuring large quantities of raspberry based foods, enough yarn to complete your project, use of weaving tools and the instructional support of master weaver Jennie Slick and her assistant Mary Walker (me).  The workshop site is on the shore of Bear Lake, a gorgeously blue natural lake on the border of Utah and Idaho (please see unretouched photo below).    The workshop is limited to 12 students.

Student looms at the 2009 Bear Lake Navajo Weaving Boot Camp.

See you at the lake!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Screenshot of the virtual classroom.

Tempe, AZ We held our first online class session in beginning Navajo weaving techniques  yesterday using WebEx’s Meeting Connection service (that’ll teach them to sell me something with unlimited minutes).   You can see the virtual class space in the picture above but it’s a screen shot of a test meeting to protect the privacy of the current students.  We found that the resolution of streaming video isn’t quite at a level that will let you see some of the finer moves that are involved in warping, but in combination with pictures, handouts and encouragement from others in the class,  we were able to create what seems to be a workable learning environment.   We’re troubleshooting an audio problem (a wicked echo) that seems to be related to speakerphones and possibly to the fact that there’s a microphone in my webcam (Who knew?  Certainly not me!)   WebEx has been great about addressing issues as we’ve brought them up and our next session is scheduled for this coming Sunday, February 7.  If you’ve written me about getting involved with a second session, I’ve got your note and I’ll be announcing dates as soon as I’m comfortable that this is a viable learning environment.  I’m almost, but not quite, there.

As one of the class members has noted, this may open up many opportunities for Navajo weavers to show their work and teach over the Internet.  And to find out about the microphone in their webcam…..

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary

An 1880's Germantown at the River Trading Post in Scottsdale, AZ.

Tempe, AZ I didn’t say which Sunday I would do the next installment on the Germantowns did I?  This time of year offers more than it’s fair share of distractions and writing articles fell by the wayside somewhere between the recipe box and the post office.   But, it’s Sunday again and I’ve got some time to continue showing you the marvels of Germantown weaving that we found on Main St. in Scottsdale.   At the River Trading Post, we saw an excellent example of the heights of design and craftsmanship that the Navajo weavers achieved during this period.   The weaving in the picture above was created in about 1880 and shows the facility that the Navajos had developed with manipulation of color within design motifs, adapting borrowed design elements into a uniquely Navajo geometry.

This particular piece has some wear in the center that has exposed a few of the fine plied cotton string warp threads.  You can see a close view of them and the Germantown yarns in the picture below (and you can click on the picture for a larger view).    Germantown yarn was plied yarn intended for knitting.   The earliest yarns were three ply and later Germantown is four ply.  It’s a fairly fine yarn, between a sport and DK or double knitting weight.   Although some  early Germantown yarn was dyed with natural colorants, most of it was dyed with coal tar derived aniline dyes, especially after the Civil War.

A detailed view of the Germantown weaving in the picture above. You can clearly see the plied wool weft and the cotton warp.

After the Navajos had returned from the Long Walk,  traders began to stock the Germantown yarn and cotton warp, but this was costly for the weavers and only the best could sell their work at a price that would justify the investment.  Used for their intended purpose, Germantowns were not good blankets and the market for them reflected that.  The combination of cotton warp and machine spun worsted produced a blanket that had poor insulation and wearing qualities.  Potential buyers considered them to be inferior to the handspun Late Classic and Chief blankets that preceded them.  Many weavers put their work on hiatus, patiently building up their flocks and a supply of wool that was free in the sense that the supply of it did not depend on any outside source, which is the Navajo way of looking at it.   Ironically,  Germantowns became popular as wall hangings during the 1890’s, around the time that the Navajos stopped using the yarn and returned to using mostly their own handspun.

We’ve got two more stops on our gallery walk, and we’ll visit with Turkey Mountain Traders next.  There we’ll look at a Late Classic piece to see some of the differences in the work.  We’ll also see some authenticated raveled bayeta.

A Rio Grande Blanket (left) and a Navajo Germantown weaving, both from the 1880's. These pieces are at the Old Territorial Shop in Scottsdale, AZ.

Tempe, AZ The Germantown period, which lasted from 1864 until about 1915, represents one of the most vibrantly creative eras in the history of Navajo weaving.  The very existence of these textiles is a testimony to the perseverance and will to survive of the Navajo people.  Although commercial yarns had been available to the Navajos in very small quantities, it was when the they were incarcerated at the Bosque Redondo near Ft. Sumner, New Mexico that these knitting yarns were introduced to them as a means of producing textiles for use and trade.

The Army had destroyed nearly all of the Navajos’ sheep and they had no other means of obtaining wool.  They were living in holes they had dug in the ground, trying to farm in the alkaline plains near the Pecos and had lost many of their family members and their homes on the Long Walk of 350 miles to Hwééldí.  In a triumph of will and dignity, they took the new materials, adapted the patterns of the Hispanic and Rio Grande weavings that they had seen and produced some of the most celebrated textiles in history.   They continued to use the new yarns when they returned to their homeland in 1868, carefully rebuilding their flocks until they once again could once again use their own handspun for weaving, a process that took some 20 years.   Please re-read this paragraph as you look at the pictures.

The pieces that survive are in collections, homes, museums and galleries all over the world, but many have remained in or have been returned to the Southwest.  Once a year, as part of a class that I teach for the Fiber Factory on the Germantown period, I try to get a group of students together to see any Germantowns that may be displayed in several of the galleries near Main St. in Scottsdale.  Over the next couple of days, you can take a virtual gallery walk with me and I’ll show you some of the weavings that grace their walls.

Our first stop was at the Old Territorial Shop.   The owners, Deb and Alston Neal carry both contemporary and vintage work, and I wasn’t sure they’d have any examples of the Germantown period, but they had two that were absolutely wonderful.    They also had a Rio Grande blanket that Alston graciously arranged next to one of the Germantowns for comparison (the picture is the one at the start of this post).  The Rio Grande blanket is woven in two panels that were meticulously joined to make a wider blanket.   The Germantown weaving on the right has interesting variations in the background color that appear to have been both deliberate and original.

The Old Territorial Shop also has an excellent example of the Late Classic period that shows the facility of the weavers with color and the creative way that they adapted designs.  The weaving is behind the desk that is on your left as you into the gallery (see picture below) and is one of those weavings that seems to me to be more beautiful every time I look at it. Of course,  being in a beautiful gallery is a nice advantage too. It is woven from handspun wool.  The red was aniline dyed, the blues are indigo and the greens are indigo over rabbitbrush.   Although it isn’t a Germantown, it does reflect the design influences that are seen in the period just after the Long Walk and dates from about 1875.

An early Germantown blanket at the Old Territorial Shop.

I like to think that the spirit of the weavers of these blankets lives on in the beautiful colors and patterns that they have left for us to appreciate.

Our next stop will be a little further down Main St. at the River Gallery.  It might be Sunday before I can get it done, but you’ll get a good look at the warp threads and some really sophisticated design elements in a piece that they have right now.

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Have looms, will travel. See you at Convergence 2010!

Registration for Convergence 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico has just opened up today and you’ll find Jennie Slick and I will be doing three seminars and a two-day workshop. Our schedule and the class numbers are below.

Thursday, July 22, 2010 (1:00-4:00) SS206 Navajo Warping and Weaving Demonstration:  Jennie do will a complete small warping and demonstrate weaving.  This will be a nice refresher or introduction for those interested in Navajo techniques.

Friday, July 23, 2010  (9:00-10:30) S308 Weavers and Traders: The Ganado Red Rug: An in-depth discussion of the development of the Ganado Red rug and the history of the Hubbell Trading Post.

Friday, July 23, 2010 (1:00-2:30) S409 Navajo Rug Reunion: Think you’ve got a national treasure like the First Phase Chief Blanket on the Antiques Road Show?  Bring it to the rug reunion and find out!  I’ll do a brief description and give you a high level appraisal

Saturday, July24, 2010 and Sunday, July 25, 2010 (9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00) WB219 Navajo Weaving Boot Camp The fastest and most intense Navajo weaving class west of the Pecos.

We’re very pleased to be included in the Convergence schedule and we’re looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. If you have any questions about any of the sessions, please contact me and I’ll try to answer them for you or I’ll find someone who can.  I’ve had questions from a couple of people regarding what process we would use to select the students and my answer to that is that if it’s up to us, it’s carbon based life forms on a first come, first warped basis!

See you in Albuquerque!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Irene Bailey (left) checks out the striped weaves at the beginning of Ann Hornby's rug.

Tempe, AZ One of the things that people come to terms with when they’re learning to weave Navajo style is something that I learned from Pearl Sunrise at a class I took a long time ago (shortly after the Monster-Slayer Twins rid the Fourth World of nasty creatures).    With great authority and wisdom, Pearl said “Stripes are good” .    With Pearl’s help, I came to understand that stripes force you to lay your yarns in generously and evenly, to develop a consistent beat and to watch your edges.  All of these skills will help you to progress more quickly when you start to do patterning.    Some weavers, like Nellie Glasses of Rough Rock, AZ, do pieces that consist only of simple striped zones.  I usually have a couple of Nellie’s pieces in the samples that I bring to class, and they are often rugs that students use in developing their first patterns.  Our recent October class was no exception.   The piece that Ann Hornby is working on in the picture above is a variation on one of Nellie’s handspun rugs.    Ann used a technique that’s called Coalmine or railroad tracks by Navajo weavers and is referred to as pick and pick by floor loom weavers.   Simply, it is one row of one color followed by one row of another color (and handled correctly on the edges).

Another member of our class, Pamela Desanto, is a very accomplished floor loom weaver and also started her piece with a striped section to adapt to the difference in equipment and technique.  She skillfully manipulated her colors to create a very interesting striped area.    You can see what a quick study Pamela is in the crisp, straight lines that she achieved in her first attempt.    Linda Mansour was also experienced in floor loom techniques and has studied  Navajo weaving with Barbara Jean Teller Ornelas.   The striped band at the beginning of her piece (seen in the close-up below)  is a combination of simple stripes and Coalmine weave and sets a great standard for even lines and consistency.

Linda Mansour's striped section is combination of Coalmine technique and simple stripes.

I think I’ll go weave some stripes later today!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker