Spiderwoman shoulder blanket by TahNibaa Naat'aanii

TahNiibaa Naataanii wears one of her shoulder blankets and stands in front of another of her weavings

Tempe, AZ  TahNibaa Naat’aanii of Table Mesa, NM exemplifies the finest qualities of Navajo tradition in her constant blending of innovation with heritage.  TahNibaa seeks a return to the times when Navajo textiles were used by Navajos as garments, before the introduction of machine made Pendleton patterns.  In the intricately and beautifully fringed blanket above, TahNibaa has employed a garment geometry more often associated with those woven in the Pacific Northwest, blending it with design elements relating to the great Spiderowman.   You can see TahNibaa wearing a shoulder blanket with the same geometry in the picture at right.   TahNibaa frequently custom dyes her yarns with native and non-native dyes as well as commercial aniline dyes.  She has recently been working with silk felting and fusion pieces.  To view more of her work, you can visit her web site.

In addition to her weaving, TahNibaa is the Project Director for Dibé bé Iiná, an organization dedicated to assisting goat, sheep and fiber producers with technical and educational information that will help them to attain self-sufficiency.   The annual Sheep is Life Celebration will be held on June 20-25, 2011 at Diné College in  Tsaile, Arizona.

Today is TahNibaa’s birthday, so this seemed like a good time to take a closer look at her work. Happy birthday, TahNibaa!

Hagoshíí (so long for now)

Mary Walker