The Weaving News
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,…
Tempe, AZ Up until horse accoutrements like saddle blankets, cinches and bridles were commercially available, Navajo weavers produced these items themselves, skillfully winding their warp threads between the necessary hardware, using it at the end of the warp instead of a rod. Cinches virtually disappeared until the late 20th century when weavers like Roy Kady…
Tempe, AZ Today’s very contemporary looking rug is woven by Regina Bia of Burnt Corn Valley, AZ and in fact Regina is the only person I have ever known to weave this particular design. I can’t find any pictures of them newer than 2008, so it’s possible that Regina’s not weaving them at all right…
Tempe, AZ With so much of our news centered on the Middle East today, I immediately sought out a picture of this magnificent rug woven in 2007-2008 by Ella Mae Nez. Nominally this design is a Burntwater, but in many ways it can be seen as a magic carpet that shows how the vision and…
Tempe, AZ Registration for our next group of online classes is available starting today. There are two sessions that meet once a week for the first three weeks, have a three week break to allow students time to weave on their own and then conclude with two more weekly sessions. One session will meet on…
Tempe, AZ Lola Cody is noted for her weaving in general, but is particularly famous for her work with weft-faced double weave, which when combined with other Navajo techniques produces a weaving with two sides. In a conventional Navajo weaving, there are two paths or “sheds” for the weft threads to follow. A two-sided piece…
Tempe, AZ In 2008, I had the chance to spend a couple of days at the Los Poblanos Inn and Cultural Center in Albuquerque. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and began its history as the home of the Simms family, who helped found the Creamland Dairy business. The…
Tempe, AZ Verna Smith’s meticulous blending of color and masterful weaving technique would be striking even without her eye-catching use of zones of contrasting design. With her design sense, her weaving is recognizable as soon as you see it. In the piece above, photographed last year at Richardson’s Trading Post in Gallup, New Mexico, using…
Tempe, AZ We’re going back into the picture library nearly six years today to look at a student weaving that just made me think of Easter when I was picking out the picture for today. Above, you see a piece by student Jean Walbridge as she was weaving it. She had arrived in class with…
Tempe, AZ Earlier today, Jennie Slick and I had a nice talk and I happened to run across a picture of a rug in progress on her loom. The rug pattern is Jennie’s favorite, a Burntwater. Burntwater is an area near Jennie’s home and it’s her father’s birthplace. Burntwater got it’s distinctive name after…