Friends of
Hubbell Native Arts Auction
Ganado, AZ
The last Friends of Hubbell Native Arts Auction for 2006 was
held on August 26, and featured just over 600
lots. There were many rugs, but pottery, jewelry and other
art
works were also included in the auction. The sun had set
before
the last lot was auctioned at about 7 PM, Mountain Daylight Time.
Quite a few bidders had left by the time auction ended, which left many
bargains for those who stayed, but there were several no-sale pieces
like the ornate Ganado Red rug at right. Joann Sakiestewa,
who is
at the left in the picture wove this rug from re-spun Brown Sheep wool.
The picture really doesn't do justice to the rug; it was
stunning. Joann may still be looking for a buyer (or may have
another rug on her loom), so please contact us
if you are interested in her weaving.
The spring Friends of Hubbell auction will be held on May 5, 2007.
The preview will be held from 9-11 AM and the auction will
begin
at noon.
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Prospective
buyers inspect the lots before the Friends of Hubbell Native Arts
Auction on August 26, (photo by Mary Walker)
Joann
Sakiestewa (left) and her sister show off a rug that Joann wove for the
recent Friends of Hubbell auction. This rug came up very late
in the
auction and did not sell for the $900 reserve. Contact us if
you're
interested in this rug; Joann may still have it. (photo
by
Mary Walker) |
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11 Year Old
Weaver Takes First Prize
Logan, UT
Once a year, Jennie Slick and I go on the road to teach a
three
day introduction to Navajo weaving techniques that we call Navajo
Weaving Boot Camp. It's everything that we can teach people
in
three days. Needless to day, it's pretty intense, and no one
has
ever finished a piece during the camp.
This
year. our boot
camps were held in Anaconda, MT and Bear Lake on the border of Utah and
Idaho. The Bear Lake Boot Camp was a private session
organized by
the Bingham family of Smithfield, Utah. Shortly before the
camp
was to start, Nancy Bingham asked us if her eleven year old
granddaugther would be able to participate. Jennie said that
would be fine, so Taylor Martindale, 11, joined our class.
Taylor warped her loom along with everyone else, and told us that she
would like to weave a design with a star in it. Taylor and I
worked out the star design that you see on the right, and by the end of
the three day camp, Taylor was five inches from completing her rug!
Since Jennie and I were staying the night with Taylor and her
grandmother, Nancy Bingham, I asked her if she would like to try to
finish it, and she said she would. Taylor, Nancy and I sent Jennie
upstairs to put her feet up, and we worked steadily on the rug,
finishing it a little after midnight. The rug turned out very
well, and Taylor entered it in the county fair where it took first
prize. Taylor and her prize winning rug appear here courtesy
of Nancy Bingham and Mandee Martindale, who is Taylor's
mother.
Navajo children who have weavers in their family are often introduced
to weaving by the time they are eight years old. Children who
don't have a weaver to teach them have to rely on school or community
programs, and their families frequently cannot afford the cost of a
loom and tools (about $150) for the child to use and can't pay for the
cost of the class. Jennie and I are trying to start a
monthly
class that will offer weaving instruction at low or no cost to the
students. If you would like to help, please contact us.
We would really love to put a Navajo student's blue ribbon
rug on this page.
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Taylor Martindale displays the
prize winning rug that she wove this summer at Navajo Weaving Boot
Camp, Bear Lake, Idaho. (photo courtesy of
Mandee Martindale) |
Carding and
Spinning Day at Toadlena Trading Post
A new Two Grey Hills rug arrives at
Toadlena during this year's Carding and Spinning Day, September 16.
(photo by
Mary Walker) |
Toadlena
Trader Mark Winter with Virginia Deal at Carding and Spinning Day.
Mark considers Virginia to be the greatest living Navajo
weaver. (photo
by Mary Walker) |
Katherine
shows us some of her uncarded wool. Katherine has a
flock of about 30 sheep. (photo by Mary Walker) |
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Toadlena, NM The
Toadlena Trading Post and Rug Museum held their annual Carding and
Spinning Day on September 16. Many area weavers attended
along
with collectors and other fiber enthusiasts. Rose Dedman,
Jennie
Slick and Mary Walker made the trip over the Chuska Mountains and
enjoyed a day of friendship and good food. It was a great
chance
to trade tips on spinning in the Navajo way and to explore new tools
and methods. Many of the Toadlena fiber arts were intrigued
by
the HitchHiker spinning wheel from The Merlin Tree in Glover, Vermont
that Mary brought along. Among the weavers attending was
Virginia
Deal, a weaver whom Toadlena trader Mark Winter believes is the
greatest living Navajo weaver.
It
is always
amazing to see the time and care that goes into the yarn that is used
in the Two Grey Hills area. Without a doublt, it is the only
area
where handspinning is the standard rather than the exception in
weaving. Thicker commercial wools are considered a
shortcut. Yarns are created by first carding the wool at
least
twice with carders which have progressively finer teeth.
Different colors of wool may be carded together to achieve more colors.
The resulting carded wool pieces, which are called batts, are
then spun loosely together into a continuous strand that spinners call
a roving. The roving is then spun and re-spun to achieve the
thickness and uniformity desired by the weaver. In a true
Two
Grey Hills rug, the weaver is allowed to dye only the black wool.
All other colors are natural.
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Katherine
Nathaniel shows us a rug she is completing at her home near Newcomb,
New Mexico. (photo by
Mary Walker) |
Here
is a close-up of Katherine's rug. Katherine spun all of the
wool using a traditional hip spindle. (photo by
Mary Walker) |
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Milestones
Monument
Valley, UT Lorita Adakai , one
of the Navajo elders who helped to pioneer the 'Ndahoo'aah summer
program at Monument Valley High School, passed away on September 9.
Lorita learned to weave when she was very young, and she
always
said that weaving helped her to support her family as she was raising
her eight children. Lorita was a prolific weaver and enjoyed
passing her knowledge on to future generations. Lorita was
one of
the weavers who helped to re-introduce the saddle cinch into the
repetoire of Navajo weaving. The cinches were woven rather
commonly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but were phased out
as mass produced cinches were introduced. A picture of
several of
the cinches that Lorita produced appears below. You can read Lorita's
narrative regarding her life and her work with 'Ndahoo'aah on
their web
site. God bless you, Lorita.
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This page is
dedicated to the art of weaving as practiced
by the Navajo people of what is now the Southwestern United
States.
This is also the home of
the Weaving in
Beauty Textile Tour and the Navajo rug
doctor (Mary
Walker) in case you have questions regarding repairs or care of your
textiles.
Navajo and other indigenous textiles are our consuming
passion
and as of July 2006, our full time vocation. 
Please drop us a line.