Weaving in Beauty

Tempe, AZ   Teec Nos Pos (T’iis Nasbas or Cottonwoods in a Circle) is in northeastern Arizona near the Four Corners Monument and many people drive through on their way to Monument Valley, Mesa Verde or Canyon de Chelly.  Teec Nos Pos is one of the 110 chapters that comprise the Navajo Nation, and the current chapter president is master weaver and Navajo-Churro shepherd Roy Kady.  The regional pattern that bears the area name goes back to 1905 when Hambleton Noel came into the area and convinced the residents that he would be just the person to serve the community in the role of trader.  Noel’s brothers had established the trading post at Two Grey Hills in 1897 and Hambleton looked to the rug designs that his brothers were marketing to provide the area weavers with a sense of what he wanted to buy from them.  At the time, Oriental rugs competed with Navajo textiles for the consumer’s dollar and so it was natural for traders to encourage the production of something familiar to the rug buying public.  It was just natural for the weavers to adapt that new geometry to their own culture.  A close look at a Teec Nos Pos rug will show you what I’m talking about.  

People will often comment that Teec rugs “look different” from other Navajo rugs without being able to put their finger on exactly why.  A Teec is different from other regional styles.  In fact, those closest relative to a modern Teec Nos Pos rug is a Two Grey Hills rug woven before 1940.  Teec weavings are known for their very complex multiple borders and their dense and dazzling single panel designs.  In most Teec weavings, no one design element has more visual weight that any of the others.  With a Teec, your eye is drawn into the central panel rather than into a central design element.  When you look closely at those design elements, you’ll begin to understand that this design is tied as closely to the Navajo culture as many Ye’i rugs. Weavers may have been told “Weave this”, but they took the rough geometry of the design and made it their own by using objects and motifs that reflected their world and their vision.   This is easiest to see in the feathers that are frequently part of the pattern.  More difficult to see are rainbows, arrows, bows and even Ye’i faces.  In fact, there is what many Teec weavers call a Ye’i face in the beautiful Eileen Littleben Teec that you see above.   Can’t see it?  I’ll help you out.  Do you see the two maroon triangular elements?  Good.  Now turn one of  them vertical and you may begin to see two stylized eyes and a mouth.  Can’t make it out?  Look at the detail below.  Let me know if you see it.  The trader might have wanted and gotten a Teec Nos Pos to sell, but he also got a design that had a lot of what the weaver wanted to weave.   

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

This large and complex weaving by Mae Clark represents the progress of her weaving career.

Tempe, AZ  Sometimes I see a weaving that just stays with me.  The rug above, by Mae Clark of the New Lands area, near Sanders, Arizona has been an inspiration to me ever since I first saw it in 2005.  Mae is a true artist, carefully composing her work, always pushing her design skills and trusting that the work will find a market.  She does the kind of weaving that most people don’t think of as a Navajo rug and that is a risky proposition.  It doesn’t hurt that one of the most ardent admirers of her work is trader Bruce Burnham, to the extent that I’ve never known Mae to sell her work to anyone else.   She works with Germantown reproduction yarns, a brightly colored three-ply worsted and Burnham’s Trading Post Yarn, which is a tightly spun woolen process yarn that resembles Navajo hand-spun.  If she can’t get the color she wants from Burnham’s, Mae dyes it herself. 

Mae told Bruce that this rug is a window that represents all of the stages her weaving career, culminating with pictorial elements.   The bird and butterfly panel is at the top of the vignettes into the other weaving patterns that brought Mae to this point in her life.  There are about 60 birds and butterflies on this rug and they are in every stage of flight and repose that you can imagine.  The more you look at them, the more you’ll see.  I’ve tried to pull out some of the most interesting areas, but the five megapixel camera that I was using limits the enlargements that I can pull out of the pictures.  I was kind of afraid that Bruce would start charging me $1 a picture!    I hope you’ll enjoy getting better acquainted with Mae and her bevy of birds and butterflies. Although Mae usually does several versions of a design, to my knowledge this is the only one of its kind.  She’s done rugs with other birds and even people, but she hasn’t woven another life story.  So far.  

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Bah Yazzie Ashley with a small (for her) Burntwater weaving. This photo was taken in May of 2006

Tempe, AZ   I think it’s been a little too long since we had some Rug of the Day fun and today’s rug picture isn’t the best rug photograph out there but it’s the best one I have of this rug.   When I saw the picture I remembered the rug with a big smile.  It was the first rug that I bought from Bah Yazzie Ashley and it has long since been sold to an appreciative collector  who may have in turn sold it or given it  to someone else.  It’s a Double Diamond Burntwater woven with vegetally dyed yarns from R.B. Burnham and Co. It wasn’t woven to win a prize, it wasn’t woven to be featured on a web site, it was woven so that Bah Yazzie could provide for herself and her family by producing something beautiful and marketable.   In the Navajo sense, it’s a good way to make a living.

It is one of  thousands and thousands of rugs that weavers have produced to pay the bills, send children to school and to provide the extras that all of us like to have the ability to buy.   You’ll also probably notice that Bah Yazzie is in a wheelchair.  She’s had trouble with her legs since she was young and that’s been exacerbated by arthritis as she’s gotten older.  She does all of her weaving in her wheelchair or on a wheeled stool.  If she stands up, she’s about 4’9″ of weaving mastery and matriarchal grandeur. 

Her name, Bah Yazzie, translates to “Little Warrior”, but the translation does not really convey the meaning of the term  in the Navajo sense.   Being a warrior in the Navajo culture means that you’re the person who gets the job done, who is depended on, who will make the tough calls and live with the fallout.  It is not a male or female trait, but rather a standard that everyone aspires to.   To gain a better understanding  of this concept, you might want to read Noel Bennett and Tiana Bighorse’s superb tribute to Tiana’s father, Gus Bighorse.  It’s called Bighorse the Warrior and it’s a short book with a profound message. 

There’s a more recent picture of Bah Yazzie below.  It was taken in September with our weaving class.   Bah Yazzie’s step-daughter Jennie Slick is on her left.   Bah Yazzie is in her mid 80′s and is still weaving to support herself and her family.  Her son, Peter, sometimes helps and is a weaver in his own right.  

Bah Yazzie Ashley with Jennie Slick and the September 2011 Weaving in Beauty class. We're at R.Burnham and Co. in Sanders, AZ

Hagoshsíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

This student is in Window Rock, but you can learn Navajo techniques anywhere that you have an high-speed connection!

Tempe, AZ  I’ve just posted the schedule for the first 2012 online classes in Navajo weaving techniques.   The beginner level class is offered on Sunday morning/afternoon and Wednesday afternoon/evening starting the week of January 8.  It’s a five-week class held over a six-week time frame and assumes absolutely no experience with weaving of any kind.  The  fee includes a digital download of ‘Atł’óhí Binaaltsoos, the textbook used in the class.  The book includes the plans for building a small loom and discusses the other equipment that you’ll need.   Also included with the book is a link to videos that support the text and provide you with help that’s accessible 24/7.   Click here if you’d like more information or want to register. 

Weavers who are more advanced may want to consider the online intermediate class.  This class covers the use of side selvage cords, weaving larger pieces, weaving with finer yarns, design issues and provides an introduction to tufted weaves, raised outline and wedge weave.  This class includes five bi-weekly sessions starting on January 15.  The two-week interval between the classes allows students time to work on larger, more complex projects.   Click here for more details and a registration link. 

I am also considering doing a two session class on designing for the Navajo loom.  This class would cover design considerations, graphical tools for design and would give students two weeks to complete a design or designs and review them with the rest of the class.   In addition to graph paper, you’ll learn how to use Excel as a design tool and have a chance to see another automated tool in action.  Cost for this class would be $30.  Please let me know if you’re interested in this kind of short format session on focused topics.  I might have a few more of them! 

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete with their class, niece Roxanne and nephew Terry at Grandmas's Spinning Wheel in Tucson.

Tucson, AZ  I just got back from a delightful visit with Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete and their class at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson, Arizona.  Lynda and Barbara are doing a three day workshop and their students where having a great time.  The class will be repeated February 12-14, 2012, so now would be the time to let Vicky at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel know if you are interested.  You can email her at spinningramma@aol.com or call the shop at 520-290-3738.  Cost for the workshop is $375 which includes use of a pre-warped loom and tools.  Both looms and tools will also be available for purchase.  This is a wonderful opportunity to study with two master weavers who are also great teachers.

Barbara and Lynda have a nephew Terry who is making some wonderful looking tools, some of them beautifully decorated.  There are couple of pictures of one of his forks below and you can contact Lynda if you’re interested in more information on them.  I hope to be able to try some of them out myself! 

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker

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