Late Classic Navajo (Diné) Blanket, ca. 1870, 54” x 33” with cochineal dyed bayeta, aniline dyed red bayeta, pink from cochineal dyed bayeta carded with white, indigo blue, and handspun white. Collection of Robert and Sherry Parsons
Art of Timeless Beauty, the Navajo Child's Blanket
On View: September 19, 2023 - May 30, 2024 in the Fechin House
Exhibition Reception: Saturday, September 23, 5-7 PM
Navajo, or Diné, are recognized as great masters of textile weaving. This exhibition will showcase some of the finest examples of their 19th-century child's blankets. It will explore the evolution of their blanket designs, from simple bands and stripes to more elaborate and complex patterns, and the historical context for how the Navajo (Diné) adapted their weaving through a changing world and oppressive conditions. Guest curated by Robert Parson, the show will include a beautiful catalog.
The Navajo experiences are woven into each of the blankets in this exhibit, each weft woven with songs and a sense of place where they were woven in a home with their own sheep's wool. This tradition continues today with newfound directions, all informed by our past. The evolution is always returning to the original source of tradition and the teachings of Spider Woman, as well as the earlier weavers who lived these lives of survival and assimilation. The Navajo weaver often rubs a spider's web into her hands to bless herself before beginning a weaving. A child also received the blessing of the web so that one day she may grow to be a fine weaver as well, a blanket woven by a child of Spiderwoman for a child. - Tony Abeyta, excerpt from Art of Timeless Beauty, the Navajo Child's Blanket exhibition catalog.
On View: September 19, 2023 - May 30, 2024 in the Fechin House
Exhibition Reception: Saturday, September 23, 5-7 PM
Navajo, or Diné, are recognized as great masters of textile weaving. This exhibition will showcase some of the finest examples of their 19th-century child's blankets. It will explore the evolution of their blanket designs, from simple bands and stripes to more elaborate and complex patterns, and the historical context for how the Navajo (Diné) adapted their weaving through a changing world and oppressive conditions. Guest curated by Robert Parson, the show will include a beautiful catalog.
The Navajo experiences are woven into each of the blankets in this exhibit, each weft woven with songs and a sense of place where they were woven in a home with their own sheep's wool. This tradition continues today with newfound directions, all informed by our past. The evolution is always returning to the original source of tradition and the teachings of Spider Woman, as well as the earlier weavers who lived these lives of survival and assimilation. The Navajo weaver often rubs a spider's web into her hands to bless herself before beginning a weaving. A child also received the blessing of the web so that one day she may grow to be a fine weaver as well, a blanket woven by a child of Spiderwoman for a child. - Tony Abeyta, excerpt from Art of Timeless Beauty, the Navajo Child's Blanket exhibition catalog.