Rug Show 2013 - Weaving Demonstrations

by John Aldrich

The Elders come to the show primarily to sell their rugs and crafts. But they also spend time sharing their unique skills and creative vision with the audience. Prior to the show opening to the public there are demonstrations for school children, and during the show, there are several opportunities for people to see the weavers at work and to hear the stories of the rugs.

Most of the weavers still have their own sheep, and many still prepare their own wool for weaving. This is a time-intensive and laborious process which is little practiced by the younger generations of weavers who find that commercial yarn is much more convenient.

While other weavers work at their looms, a few of the oldest Elders show portions of the process that leads to finished wool that can be used in weaving rugs. Elsie Shay demonstrates carding where fine-toothed combs separate the wool into strands.

The raw wool is then worked into loose coils in preparation for spinning. These are the hands of Ruth Benally.

Using a hip spindle, May Shay is working the wool into a finer strand that can be used for weaving.

Katie Furcap shows a simple but effective way to coil and uncoil the wool.

The first weaving demonstrations take place on Thursday and Friday for over 600 school children before the show opens to the public. Rena Robertson works at her loom in front of a sea of fascinated young faces.

Elizabeth Clah is working on a twill pattern. This is a more complicated technique of weaving than traditional rug patterns.

During the weaving demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday, Elsie Benale and Ella Benally present and describe a rug from each of the weavers.

Lena Cowboy's hands work instinctively as she adds new lines of weft to her rug.

Anna Jackson's rug is a conventional pattern. It is remarkable that weavers in their 80's and 90's can still weave so beautifully.

Louise Reed worked on this Yei rug during the various demonstrations throughout the show. It remained unfinished on Sunday and will be completed later.

Rug Show 2013 - The Auction

The Friday night gala opening for the rug show features a live auction as the main attraction of the evening. This event serves as the principal fund-raiser for ANE during the show, helping to defray the cost of bringing the Elders to Park City and staging the event at the Snow Park Lodge.

An auction has been a part of the show for many years, but this year was unique for the quality and appeal of the various packages that were offered.

Pauline Blanchard was the moving force behind the auction this year. A great deal of work takes place throughout the year to line up the various packages, and Pauline did an outstanding job.

We use bidding paddles to make the auction run more efficiently. KC Hale helped guests register  which entered them into a raffle drawing as well.

Pauline had a team of assistants who helped the auction run smoothly.

By the time the auction got underway, a good crowd had gathered.

The auction packages were presented to the audience by several Navajo girls in traditional dress.

Richard O'Keefe was once again our auctioneer. His style is fast-paced and very entertaining, so even those who weren't bidding had a good time at the event.

Winning bidders not only won their chosen package but were presented with  a white rose.

One of the packages featured a variety of items created by talented ANE volunteers. This beautiful watercolor by Sandy Sleeper was one of the items.

During a brief break in the bidding, the audience was treated to cookies.

The most impressive auction package of the evening was a Grand Canyon white water rafting trip for two. Fientje Allis facillitated this donation through Marty Mathis the owner of Grand Canyon Expeditions in Kanab, UT. Marty received a Navajo rug in honor of his generosity. The trip drew a high bid of $6000.

Lacee Harris and his wife had fun bidding and came away with several of the packages.

Perhaps the most unique thing at the auction was a package that provided a traditional Navajo meal cooked at the winner's home for ten guests. Along with the food the package included an evening of Navajo winter stories. The Eichingers won this package but live in Texas. They will fly Beverly Benally and her husband Howard to Texas this winter to provide the food and stories to their family.

When it was all over everyone felt rewarded with an enjoyable event and ANE benefited from the most successful auction ever.

Rug Show School Programs Produce A Volunteer

by John Aldrich

On Thursday and Friday, prior to the rug show opening to the public, we have a series of programs for school children. Over 600 students from a variety of schools attended these sessions this year. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for young people to become acquainted with Navajo culture and people.

The ages of the students range from pre-school to high school with most being in the earlier grades.

I have often wondered what sort of impact this experience might have on these youngsters, especially the youngest ones.

That question was answered in a clear way when I met Isabella Canada at this year's show.

Isabella started coming to our school programs when she was in first grade at her Montessori school and has been to every rug show since. Now a freshman at Park City High School, she came for the first time as a volunteer, working shifts both Saturday and Sunday.

When she was in third grade she received the gift of a necklace from Ruth Benally. She wore this necklace this year and was happy to have a chance to get reacquainted with Ruth.

Isabella spent most of her time working at the station where show guests can buy bundles of yarn to give to weavers of their choice. Since there was a chair handy, this provided a perch for Isabella to get a glimpse of the action at the pow wow.

We hope to see this wonderful young woman at many more shows and hope that many other students at the school programs will follow in her footsteps.

Addendum:

In a subsequent email exchange with Isabella, I learned that she was attending the Colby School in 2008 when she gave Ruth a rug she had made which resulted in Ruth giving Isabella the necklace she was wearing in the photo above.

Looking back at photos from the 2008 rug show I identified her in the following picture:

This was taken just after she had presented her gift to Ruth.

What an unexpected continuum this photograph has added to the story.

Rug Show Training November 3rd

by John Aldrich

As part of the preparations for the rug show, we hold a training event at the warehouse on the Sunday evening prior to the show. The purpose is twofold. It's an opportunity for volunteers to learn the basics about Navajo textiles as well as a chance for a first glimpse of new rugs that will be on display at the show. Volunteers who will be working the floors at the show should feel much more comfortable discussing rugs with show patrons after this orientation.

This training is conducted by John Burrow who makes a special trip from his home in Oregon for the occasion.

John is uniquely qualified to lead this event - he is very knowledgeable about Navajo rugs having been a collector for years, and he is very passionate about ANE.

It's always exciting to see some of the new rugs that Linda has acquired during the fall food runs. There are typically a number of very unique designs, and having foreknowledge about them gives a rug show volunteer an extra edge in helping prospective rug purchasers find just the right weaving.

An additional benefit of this training event is the chance to meet and visit with other volunteers, and to heighten the social aspects of the occasion there will be a potluck meal as well.

So, whether you are a seasoned volunteer or someone experiencing their first show, please plan to attend.

The event will be held at the warehouse on Sunday November 3rd at 5:30 p.m. And don't forget to bring something to share at the food table.

The Rug Show Is Coming Soon

by John Aldrich

The rug show is only two weeks away and the excitement is building for the event. Last evening we had our last volunteer meeting which was well-attended and served as the final springboard leading up to the show.

The meeting served to highlight a number of the events that will take place during the show. Wendy Sanborn, Assistant Director of ANE, has devoted an enormous amount of time overseeing the organization of the show which began almost a year ago.

Serving with her have been a group of four co-chairs who have worked on a particular day of the show. Each stood in turn to present the highlights of their day starting with Gina Zimmerer who is the chair for Thursday's events.

The other co-chairs are Robin Field-Williams for Friday, Kate Stephens for Saturday, and Carla Sydenham for Sunday.

Another key player in the team is Elinda McKenna who serves as volunteer coordinator.

I suspect that no one who hasn't actually done the job can truly grasp the enormity and complexity of the task that this involves. But Elinda's exceptional organizational skills serve her well in this capacity.

Several of the special events to be held during the show were featured during the meeting. On Friday evening at the gala opening there will be two auctions this year. The first will feature a silent auction of all the special Weaving Winter Stories theme rugs. We have roughly 40 of these rugs on hand now, and they always create a stir of interest when people see them.

Linda described the background of the theme and discussed several of the rugs.

Our weavers continue to submit these special rugs, and there could be even more by the time of the show. The silent auction will start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and continue until 7:30 p.m. when the main auction will begin.

Pauline Blanchard has done a fine job organizing everything for the main auction on Friday evening. There are a host of appealing packages - perhaps the best lineup that we have ever offered. Pauline showed the Pendelton blanket that will be part of the auction. This is what Linda showed the weavers at last year's show to give them an idea of colors they might consider using in their special theme rugs.

Two of the theme rugs will be in the main auction this year including this beautiful Snowflake design by Anita Jackson.

The premier package features a Grand Canyon river trip for two. This was arranged by Fientje Allis and offered by Grand Canyon Expeditions. It has a value of $5300 and should garner lots of interest from the bidders. Just imagine yourself in this scene - - -

Among the other packages are such tempting items as a fly fishing trip on the Green River, 3 days and 2 nights at the Red Mountain Spa, and an air boat outing for 5 on the Great Salt Lake.

An important part of the meeting dealt with volunteers and helping everyone to understand their responsibilities and how the show works.

 

Elinda reported that we now have barely enough volunteers to cover all the shifts. Ideally, however, she would like to have 25 or 30 more. So, if you're thinking this might be a good opportunity, it's not too late to sign up. Volunteer information and sign up form can be had through this link. Or you can email Elinda for more information.

Another highlight for the show is the veterans' ceremony on Sunday morning. Howard Benally organizes this event and reported that our speaker this year will be Richard Yellowhammer, a veteran as well as husband of program co-founder Grace Smith Yellowhammer. It should be another moving occasion.

 

To learn more about the show and view the schedule of events, please visit the rug show page of our web site. We hope to see you there!

Rug Show Moments 2011 - Veterans Ceremony

by John Aldrich

The Veterans Ceremony on Sunday morning remains one of the most moving parts of the rug show. This year's event was no exception. We have been honored to have a Navajo Code Talker at the majority of ceremonies in recent years. Because  of their advancing age and dwindling numbers it has become a challenge to find one who can make the journey to Park City for the event.

This year Howard and Beverly Benally answered the challenge by inviting Raymond Smith Jr. of Lupton, Arizona. Raymond is a veteran himself and the son of Code Talker Raymond Smith Sr., who passed away several years ago.

Here is Raymond with his wife Theresa and daughter Savannah:

And here is Raymond with Beverly and Howard:

The ceremony began with the stirring drumming and singing of the White Lake drum group:

- combined with the entrance of the colors:

Rhonda Duvall once again offered her inspiring rendition of the national anthem in Navajo:

- which was followed by Raymond's talk:

Raymond combined reminiscences of his own military career with others about his father. The Navajo are a very patriotic people which strikes many as a contradiction in view their past treatment by the U.S. Government and the army in particular. As a group the Code Talkers have been modestly unassuming about their key role in World War II, often not even discussing it among their own family.

From Raymond's talk we understand that his father was a man of great integrity, and a man in whose footsteps his son tries to walk. Integrity is a value we all need to embrace in our modern world.

Following Raymond's talk we had the prayers of the traditional Elders for all veterans and active military, and in closing, each of the veterans attending the ceremony was individually honored.

There were many vets in the audience, but to the best of my knowledge, this friend of LaRee White-Engel was the only one in full uniform:

The final photo shows Rhonda again in her beautiful dress and jewelry:

We express our gratitude to Howard and Beverly for orchestrating this moving event.

Rug Show Moments 2011 - Fine Dress

by John Aldrich

The rug show is a feast for the eyes. The displays of rugs, jewelry, baskets, and crafts certainly create an extravagant visual treat. But add to that the traditional dress of the Elders and their families and you have something extraordinary.

Although I'm only guessing, I doubt that Navajos living their daily lives on the reservation have too many occasions to bring out their finery. But the rug show is one event where they show their best.

This photo of the Blackhorse-Benale family of Forest Lake shows multiple generations all dressed in the traditional manner:

Brightly colored velveteen blouses and skirts augmented by silver and turquoise jewelry make a dazzling display of color. Turquoise is the favored stone for jewelry as it traditionally provides protection to the wearer.

Here are Frances Bahe and her daughter Marie wearing their beautiful jewelry:

Frances is also wearing a Pendelton coat, another favorite among traditional Navajos.

Most traditional Navajos do not cut their hair, but wear it done up tightly and tied with yarn in a hair bun. This style is not limited to the women as Julius Chavez demonstrates:

Another aspect of traditional dress is leather moccasins complemented by deer hide leggings. Here Darlene Furcap is fitting the leggings for her daughter:

Young Navajo women often wear rug dresses at special occasions. These are woven in the same manner as blankets. At the show this year were two very special rug dresses. The first was created for Marty Whitehair by her parents for her graduation. It incorporates a horse in keeping with a theme often seen in the weavings of this family:

The other unique dress is a multiple rug design made by Darlene Furcap for her daughter Dianna:

And finally, back to the topic of hair, Harry Begay shows that he has talents beyond roping as he fixes the hair of his niece, Bobbi Jo Whitehair: