Archive for 2009
2009 Gathering of Weavers Conclusion
Phoenix, AZ I wish I could include a picture of each of the weavers at this year’s event, but I just couldn’t visit with everyone and still attend the afternoon lectures that I wanted to go to. I did get a chance to talk with Sylvia Begaye, a noted dollmaker who incorporates hand woven textiles…
Read More2009 Gathering of Weavers Continued
Phoenix, AZ Moving down the Heard Museum’s courtyard at the Gathering of Weavers last Saturday, I smelled Navajo tea and then saw D.Y. Begay with her dyepots. Also called kota or greenthread, the Navajo tea plant is used to make a beverage as well as a dye for wool. Depending on the type of pot…
Read More2009 Gathering of Weavers at the Heard Museum
Phoenix, AZ The Heard Museum held their second annual Gathering of Weavers yesterday. It’s a one day event dedicated to weaving and weavers held on the first Saturday in November. The event is held outdoors in the museum’s courtyard and allows buyers to purchase rugs directly from the weaver. The museum handles the sales through…
Read MoreLearning to Weave in Window Rock: Stripes are Good
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…
Read MoreWeaving in Beauty October 2009: Starting to Weave
Tempe, AZ Navajo visitors to our classroom often ask the students if they have done their own warps and are surprised to learn that they have. If our class were running in the traditional Navajo way of teaching weaving, Jennie and I would have done the warps before the class started we would have begun…
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