Learning to weave

I often sense frustration and impatience when people are first learning to weave, whether tapestry or fabric. This creates a lot of stress for them.

In the summer when I was in Arizona I had the privilege of hearing a wonderful Navajo weaver talk about her work. Her name is DY Begay. One of the things that really struck me when she described her own learning to weave in the Navajo tradition was that the learning was not verbal and with words, but with the learner watching then trying. It is very much what learning a material, physical skill requires, as I reflect upon my own learning journey. I remember for instance, learning how to dance. The teacher's instructors were clear enough, I understand what she was saying, and yet the body seemed to not absorb the information as quickly as the eye and mind can comprehend and therefore was not cooperating. A skill requires a different non cerebral kind of learning which is sometimes hard for westerners to comprehend. Just because the eye and mind can process a lot rapidly, doesn't mean the body does.

In terms of my own learning journey in weaving, that the choice was not only about the activity, but what the activity came to represent to me, i.e. the meaning it held for me. I came to understand that my being here as a weaver, that my choice to be a weaver for so much of my adult life, was and is more about a way of life, a philosophy of life, which I believe many indigenous people share.

I've attached a link to her web page below and perhaps this will lead others to new revelations and inspiration.


http://www.members.cox.net/dybegay/

Convergence 2010 Day 3 July 22

At 7:30 a.m. I attended a talk by local fibre artists and a fibre gallery owner. Jill Heppenheimer (on right), part owner of the Santa Fe Weaving gallery, opened the presentation. She also organizes textiles tours around the world. Irvin Trijulo (on left) is of Spanish descent and his family has been in the area for many generations. He has a shop and studio and lives in Chimayo. He has seeds he uses to grow his plants for natural dyeing that are up to 200 years old. He uses the wool of Truro Sheep. He has established a reputation for weaving Chimayo blankets which are woven in the tapestry technique. For bobbins he uses cardboard tubes from yarn cones and the looms are of the most rudimentary construction. He employs 14 weavers and has orders from all over the world. Designs were handed down generation to generation within the family. I loved listening to Irvin. He has a humble and gentle way and has a lot of integrity. I found listening to him very moving, and I found it so moving that he continues his family tradition of weaving that had come down through the generations. His respect for these traditions is evident.

DY Begay (centre) is a contemporary tapestry weaver of Navajo origins and in her rug and blanket weaving tradition too, designs and technique were handed down generation to generation. Children were supposed to learn by watching and doing and were not supposed to ask questions. This really resonated with me. For the Navajo weaving was introduced to them through Spiderwoman. Her own interpretation of her Navajo traditions are abstracted landscapes. Colours and motifs are inspired by the land, by her environment. Her work can be seen at the Heard Museum in Phoenix Arizona.

My first workshop today: Warp Painting on the Loom with Jannie Taylor. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh....what fun AND it feels so good to be weaving again! I can’t wait to share these techniques with my students and can’t wait to continue exploring them myself. I see infinite possibilities. I made another new friend – Judith Shangold....we initially had talked on the bus for the Santa Fe Opera House and Fiber ArtistTour. She too took the warp painting. I really enjoyed her company!

The workshop took place in a room the size of a football field. About 4 or 5 other workshops were taking place simultaneously. A fellow Canadian spotted me in this melee, Melanie Segal. Melanie and I went to the Ontario College of Art and Design a long time ago! The second Canadian I ran into while I am here. One of the workshops taking place was Rio Grande rug weaving.
Afterwards checked out the various exhibitions of fibre art works and the garments that were featured in the fashion show. Here I bumped into Ted Hallman, one of fibre art teachers from my OCAD days! What a small world. He lives in Santa Fe 3 months in the summer and the rest of the time resides in Philadelphia . Also had a stroll around the vendors hall where I ran into another Canadian, Joyce Newman from the Burlington Spinners and Weavers. Funny....we come all this way, hardly see each other here, and we bump into each other thousands of miles of way!



The Ontario Arts Council is an agency of the Government of Ontario