March
26th
2012
Gilbert Begay at the recent Heard Museum Guild Indian Market
Tempe, AZ Happy Birthday(!) to one of the most talented, kind and generous people I know: weaver Gilbert Begay. In addition to working full-time at Safeway, Gil is an accomplished weaver who just finished demonstrating twill saddle blanket weaving at the opening of They Wove for Horses: Diné Saddle Blankets. The exhibit contains examples of Navajo saddle blanket weaving from 1860 to 2002 and is on long-term display at The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, 710-708 Camino Lejo, off Old Santa Fe Trail on Museum Hill in Santa Fe.
You can see Gilbert with some of the work that he showed at the recent Heard Museum Indian Market and there is almost always something by Gilbert in the Weaving in Beauty Mercantile. Gilbert is very innovative and he has developed a knack for coming up with pieces that blend contemporary utilitarianism with traditional patterns. His purses are very popular and also has also added horse cinches and most recently scarves to his offerings. The scarves are worn like a liturgical stole or are draped over one shoulder. It’s easy to imagine his weaving as part of a high-end fashion portfolio. It would look great on the catwalk!
Have a great day, Gilbert! Happy, happy birthday shi(my) buddy.
Hagoshíí (so long for now)
Mary Walker
September
8th
2011
Gilbert Begay
Albuquerque, NM One of Gilbert Begay’s handwoven bags, probably similar in design to the one above has taken top honors at the New Mexico State Fair. An ecstatic Gilbert posted on Facebook tonight “I won First Place on my Handwoven bag and Second Place on my Navajo Sash Belt….. Bah Hozho Shi Dine’e!!!! For those who own my handwoven bags…. remember… they are Award Winning!! Cherish them… Weave in Beauty… I am very Happy… Enjoy your Evening….”
Gilbert will also be entering some of his weaving at the upcoming Friends of Hubbell Native American Arts Auction. His prizewinning bag is for sale through the New Mexico State Fair at $160, but watch out for the deep fried treats if you try to wear it home! Gilbert has developed a great niche market for his small bags and it is really gratifying to see them getting this kind of recognition.
Gilbert is from Crownpoint, New Mexico and learned to weave from his grandmother. He works for Safeway in Farmington, NM and weaves prodigiously when he is not on his day job .
I hope to see Gilbert at the Crownpoint Rug Auction tomorrow evening and for sure at next week’s Hubbell event. Congratulations, Gilbert!
Hagoshíí (so long for now)
Mary Walker
GPS: I’m headed for Crownpoint tomorrow and to Moab, Utah on Saturday for the Canyonlands Natural History Navajo Rug Auction. Road trip!
March
26th
2011
Happy birthday to weaver Gilbert Begay! Gilbert works for Safeway in Farmington, NM and is also a prolific weaver. Above you can see him with one of the small bags that he weaves. In fact, he’s probably weaving one right now. Have a great day, Gilbert!
November
30th
2010
Tempe, AZ I know it isn’t Cyber Monday, but now that I have a break in weaving classes, I have some time to add things into the Mercantile that you may find perfect for an upcoming gift giving opportunity, a reward for yourself or just fun to look at. I’ve been doing quite a bit of buying lately because I did quite a bit selling over the summer and this fall! On behalf of the artists that you’re supporting and myself, I want to thank everyone who is choosing to buy contemporary Native American crafts and all things that are hand made.
Today, you’ll find that I’ve added bags by Emily Malone and Gilbert Begay to the store. There also several of Lula Brown’s most intricate and hard to find miniature weavings including one of her 60 bird miniatures, a Three Phase Chief Blanket set and a cross shaped Tree of Life miniature (the first I had seen). I’ll be adding more items over the next few days and I plan to attend the Crownpoint Auction next week.
I’m also starting to add some jewelry and other items that are made by some of the talented Native American artists that I meet in my travels. Today I added a unique set of fetish carvings of the Four Sacred Mountains of the Navajo by Christopher McCabe. The four small stone mountains in the set represent Sis Naajini (La Plata Mountain, near Alamosa, CO), Tsodziił (Mount Taylor, near Grants, NM), Dook’o'oosłííd (the San Francisco Peaks, near Flagstaff, AZ), and Dibé Nitsaa (Mount Hesperus, near Durango, CO). Christopher has adapted the Pueblo practice of fetish carving to the Navajo culture and is a hard working and creative artist whose work I think you’ll enjoy seeing and possibly owning. Take a look at the picture below and I think you’ll see what I mean. The weaving in the picture isn’t included in the set (but we can talk about it if you want it). You can click here to see more pictures or click here to buy one of the three sets that I have.
The Four Sacred Mountains of the Navajo represent the points of the Navajo compass. The East is represented by white clam shell, the South by blue turquoise, the West by yellow abalone and the North by black jet.
Hagoshíí (so long for now)
Mary Walker
October
20th
2010
Laramie Blake graces the cover of the 2011 Weaving in Beauty Calendar
Tempe, AZ The 2011 version of the Weaving in Beauty calendar has just been added to the Publications page in the Weaving in Beauty Mercantile. The calendar features Navajo weavers, weaving students, traders and trading posts and as many examples of the Navajo weaving art as possible. This year’s cover features 18 year old weaver Laramie Blake, a member of the famous Spider Rock Girls family of weavers. Also featured is work by Rena Robertson, Gilbert Begay, Nathan Harry, Verna Smith, Emily Malone, R.G. Sherman, Jennie Slick and Larissa Blake. In addition to the standard holidays, the calendar shows the official holidays of the Navajo Nation and the dates of major auctions and other important events in the cycle of the weaver’s year.
The calendar photographs are selected from the 8000+ pictures that I take each year and the editing job always reminds me that I am one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth to be doing what I do for a living. The calendar is priced at $15 per copy and you can click here to purchase a copy or click here to go to the Publications page in the Mercantile.
A preview of each of the months in the 2011 Calendar (please click for a closer view)
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