Weaving in Beauty

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