Weaving in Beauty

Today, our Window Rock class took a field trip to Two Grey Hills and Toadlena.  These areas are noted for finely woven rugs woven in natural colors.  There are two trading posts in this area, so we had a busy afternoon.  We stopped at first at the Toadlena Trading Post and Rug Museum to visit with Mark Winter.  Mark took the class through the Master Weavers exhibit showing the development of the Two Grey Hills style through the years.  Mark made the interesting observation that it was in the Two Grey Hills area that rug weavers were first identified with their work.  Mark graciously allowed us to examine a Daisy Tauglechee rug while we were in the museum.  You can see Mark with the students in the picture below.

Mark Winter of the Toadlena Trading Post and Rug Museum shows the students through the Master Weavers exhibit.

One of the more interesting rugs at Toadlena is pictorial of an Indian chief in full regalia.  Mark had seen a picture of the rug, and it turned up in show within the next two weeks.  As you can see in the picture of part of the rug below, it’s very distinctive.

We went on to the Two Grey Hills Trading Post where Shirley Brown showed us one of her fabulous hand carded and handspun rugs.  It is approximately 4′x6′ and is priced at $9000.  Here’s a picture of Shirley with the rug in the Two Grey Hills rug room.

Shirley Brown with her handspun and handcarded Two Grey Hills rug.

Before we left Two Grey Hills, Shirley took us out to see Irma Henderson’s Navajo-Churro sheep.  I took the opportunity to take a picture of my favorite Navajo-Churro ram and I’ll call it a day with that picture.

Irma Henderson's Navajo-Churro ram.

Today, six members of our class went to Canyon de Chelly for a half-day tour. The weather was perfect and we had a great time guided by David Benally, who has been taking people through the canyon for 29 years. You can see David pointing out some of the features of the canyon below.

Thunderbird Lodge guide David Benally in Canyon de Chelly.

The canyon is a wonderland of rock formations, rock art and Anasazi ruins that is also the summer home of many Navajo people.  Some of the rock art depicts the canyon’s history through the eyes of the early Navajo inhabitants.  You can see a close-up of the Spanish mural below.  This mural depicts the arrival of Spanish soldiers who would massacre many of the Navajos living in the Canyon in the early 1800’s.

The Spanish Mural in Canyon de Chelly was painted by Navajo inhabitants and is thought to depict the arrival of Spanish soldiers who would massacre many Navajos.

We drove back to WIndow Rock via the north rim of the canyon and arrived back in Window Rock at about 4 PM.  Diane Craig and Mary Falzone, who had stayed in Window Rock with Jennie Slick have been working hard and we found them well into the last third of the their weaving.  Below, you’ll see Mary’s piece in the late afternoon.

Mary Falzone's weaving was moving into it's last third this evening.

Diane Craig is working on her last half inch of weaving and will probably complete her rug tomorrow, which is a record for our classes.  She was inspired by a Nellie Glasses handspun rug and is planning to use the completed project as a pillow cover.

Diane Craig works on the last two inches of her weaving.

Jennie Slick is also finishing a small weaving on her portable loom and you can see her below with Cheryl Griffin.

Jennie Slick (left) is also finishing a piece on her C-Cactusflower loom. Cheryl Griffin works on her loom at right.

You’ll see pictures of the completed weavings tomorrow!

Our students are continuing to make great progress with their weaving with many of them approaching the half way point.   Each student is working on a unique design and some may even finish by the time our class ends on Saturday morning.

Jennie coaches Gloria Thompson on the rock art motif in her rug.

Mary Falzone is working on a design inspired by the Teec Nos Pos pattern and we’re having fun helping her work on it.  It reminds me of a historic rug that I saw last winter and I need to try to find a picture of it.

Mary Falzone works on her Teec Nos Pos inspired motif.

This afternoon, we were the guests of Henry and Rose Dedman in Ft. Defiance where we tried our hand at traditional Navajo vegetal dyeing.  We used rabbitbrush, sage, ground lichen, wild carrot, Navajo tea and juniper mistletoe.  We got some wonderful colors that I’ll try to photograph tomorrow.  Here’s a short video of some of the students tending the dyepots over the open fire. From left, you see Cheryl Griffin, Diane Craig and Nance Howsman.  After we had completed the dye work, we had a cook-out with the Dedman family. It was a great afternoon and thank you Henry and Rose for your gracious hospitality.

Our class is making great progress on their weaving and today we made our way to R.B. Burnham and Company Trading Post in Sanders, Arizona and then went on the Gallup, New Mexico for a visit to Richardson’s Trading, which is home to the world’s largest Navajo rug room.

At Burnham’s, we enjoyed talking about rug designs and various types of wool that have been used in Navajo weaving.  That lead us into a discussion of the importance of sheep in traditional Navajo life and Virginia Burnham told us about her experiences in caring for her family’s sheep as a very young child.

Virginia Burnham talks about the role of sheep in Navajo culture with Gloria Thompson (left) and Rosemary Morrill (right) as Bruce Burnham looks on.

A visit with Bruce and Virgina is always interesting and we also enjoyed spending some time in their wool room.  Before we left, we took a group picture with Bruce and Virginia that you can see below.

From left, Mary Falzone, Jan Souders, Ann Enyart, Nance Howsman, Cheryl Griffin, Diane Craig, Gloria Thompson, Thomas Griffin, Rosemary Morrill, Bruce Burnham, Virginia Burnham at R.B. Burnham and Co. in Sanders, AZ.

Next we went to Jennie Slick’s home and she showed the class how large floor rugs are woven, demonstrating with a large Burntwater rug that she is working on for a client.   She hopes to finish it by the end of the year.

Jennie Slick weaves as Thomas Griffin looks on.

Our final stop for the day was at Richardson Trading in Gallup, New Mexico.  There we were allowed the privilege of exploring the world’s largest Navajo rug room on our own, and we even got Thomas to model a First Phase Chief Blanket dyed with cochineal and indigo.

Thomas models a First Phase Chief Blanket at Richardson's Trading in Gallup.

Jennie Slick and I are teaching back to back sessions of our weaving class and tour over the next two weeks, so we’ll try to post our activities each day.  Yesterday, we went to the Friends of Hubbell Native Arts Auction.  It was a very rainy day, unusual for October, but the R.B. Burnham auctioneers did everything they could to move the auction along and bring cash to the local economy.  By about five in the afternoon, it was too dark to see in the tent, and we made our way back to Window Rock with some wonderful rugs, jewelry and pottery.

Today we started weaving in Window Rock, and as of this evening all of the students are making great progress and will start working on patterns in the morning.  Brenda Spencer dropped by and showed us her latest weaving, a stunning Wide Ruins/Burntwater Overlay pattern that is reportedly on its way to the Heard Museum Shop.  Here’s a picture of the tapestry grade rug, which boasts an impressive 88 weft threads per inch.  It took Brenda 15 months to complete it.

Our students did a great job with their warping as you can see in the picture below.  That’s Jan Souders and Mary Falzone working as Jennie watches.  Our classes do their warps in teams so that they have an opportunity to repeat the process right away.

This is an enthusiastic class and the students worked well into the evening.  That’s Gloria Thompson on the left and Jan Souders on the right.  Tomorrow, we’ll be headed to out to look at yarn and visit with Jennie at home. 

Albuquerque, NM Weaver and silversmith Morris Muskett will be showing his work this weekend at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Indian Market.  Morris’ work is a provocative melding of traditional and contemporary designs.  You can see a sample of his work below and at his web site.  The market hours are 9 to 5 each day.  You’ll find the market off exit 232 on I-25.  Follow the signs to the second tent. (Full disclosure: I’m also Morris’ web diva.)

Mary Walker