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Maiden Shawl, 12 x 12 inches, weaving, by Joyce Begay-Foss (San Juan Pueblo)Foss findingwayA matter ofwatching,learningBy DOTTIE INDYKEohody taught Joyce Begay-loss to weave; she learned by watching. Her childhood summers were spent on the Navajo reservation in the company of weavers who were too busy getting their rugs ready for market to take the time to teach her, But it didn't matter Weaving was in Begay-l oss blood, and she found her own way.Today, the master weaver and teacher is reviving and reinterpreting many old Navajo rug weaving styles site discovered through painstaking research at the Museum of New Mexico and School for American Research.“There's nowhere you can go to school to learn, she said.“I go and look at collections, do a lot of text reading. I talk to older people from tribes — not necessarily Navajo, also pueblo and Apache.Txamples in books are very general; there s no detail as.to the weave. Most Native weavers don't do warp counts. 1 don’t know how they figure it out .I'm reinventing weaving, in a way Rather than the more known contemporary Navajo rug patterns, such as Two Grey Hills and Chinlc, Begay Toss is attracted toolder style weavings.Her tufted fleece rugs woven with churro wool, mohair tufts and rabbit fur are traditional examples of Navajo weaving not done much anymore; these have garnered prizes for Begay-Foss at Indian Market and the Right Northernrug weavingDETAILS►WHO/WHAT:Museum of New Mexico Foundation Navajo rug auctionWHEN:Previews, 10 a.m. 2 p.m. today.Aug. I; 10 a.m. Saturday,Aug. 2 Auction at I 1 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2WHERE:lt; iourtvard, Palace*of The GovernorsINFO:982-3016Pueblos arts and crafts show.This weekend, when the Museum of New Mexico Foundation sponsors its seventh annual Navajo rug auction at the Palace of the Governors, Begay-Foss will he on hand to demonstrate. Some ISO pieces and 17 styles will he previewed today, Aug. I, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and again Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 to 11 a.m.Thc auction begins at 11 and will continue until all the rugs are sold.Hducation is paramount to Begay-Foss.The reason she teaches weaving to children and adults — at the Poch Center in Pojoaque and in the Santa Fc Public Schools — is to ignite sparks of interest, pass on her love of the process and preserve the traditions of her culture.Look at me, i learned a lot just from observing, she said. Think of kids being exposed and then they might want to pursue weaving. It's really sad that we’re a state so rich in culture and we re not teaching our school kidsabout the arts.’One of the centerpieces of her weaving is the use of vegetable and organic dyes.“There is a whole life of meaning from them, she said ‘Instead of saying red, you say this is from the bark of trees or from an insect. It has a symbolism; that'slt;rthe way weaving is to me. You go out at a certain time of year and you pick plants, identify them with the season. It s part of communicating with nature and seeing the environment in your pieces.She offered some advice for those looking for high-quality Navajo weavings.“Look at the side selvages, she said * There are little twists to protect the edges of the rug. Usually you have four tassels and it’s all bound.That shows it was done on a real Navajo loom. Most are done in wool and in natural colors, though it gets hard because there are contemporary weavers using a huge array of colors, especially in the pictorals.“Try to buy from the weavers. If you buy from a trading post, get information on the piece as to warp count and colors.That’s not too much for collectors to ask. Anyone who is going to spend thousands of dollars on a rug has to do some research on their own.Begay-Foss is an expert on research, having earned her stripes just that way.“Nobody can take weaving away from me, she said.It’s mine. Fven though I didn’t grow up on the res doing it, my relatives gave me a loom, and they gave me their old tools, too. They won’t give tools that are 50 years old just to anyone. It s an honor, really, like handing the baton over.
Newspaper Details
Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
Fri, Aug 01, 1997
Page 33
Full Page
Clipped by
Jane D.
MD, USA 31 Jul 2020
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