Spider Woman's Children

Navajo rugs set the gold standard for handwoven textiles in the U.S. But what about the people who create these treasures? Spider Woman's Children is the inside story, told by two women who are both deeply embedded in their own culture and considered among the very most skillful and artistic of Navajo weavers today. Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete are fifth-generation weavers who grew up at the fabled Two Grey Hills trading post. Their family and clan connections give them rare insight, as this volume takes readers into traditional hogans, remote trading posts, reservation housing neighborhoods, and urban apartments to meet weavers who follow the paths of their ancestors, who innovate with new designs and techniques, and who uphold time-honored standards of excellence. Throughout the text are beautifully depicted examples of the finest, most mindful weaving this rich tradition has to offer.
"Navajo rugs set the gold standard for handwoven textiles in the U.S. Their history and value to collectors is unparalleled. But what about the people who create these treasures? You might be surprised. Spider Woman's Children is the inside story, told by two women who are both deeply embedded in their own culture, and considered among the very most skillful and artistic of Navajo weavers today. Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete are fifth-generation weavers who grew up at the fabled Two Grey Hills trading post. Their family and clan connections give them rare insight into where the craft has been and where it is going. They take you into traditional hogans, remote trading posts, reservation housing neighborhoods, and urban apartments to meet weavers who follow the paths of their ancestors, who innovate with new designs and techniques, and who uphold time-honored standards of excellence. You'll meet men who learned to weave from their grandmothers; women who weave alongside their aging moms; a young woman who incorporates contemporary images into skillful, highly collectible tapestries. You'll walk with elderly women over their sheep pastures and cornfields in search of natural dyestuffs. You'll see how well made, simple weaving tools from generations past take a place of pride in every home. And throughout, you'll see examples of the finest, most mindful weaving this rich tradition has to offer"--Front flap.
"The authors recognize that all weavers have a story to tell about their weaving, and every weaving tells a story about its creator. It is these stories, told by multiple generations that are at the heart of this lively and richly-illustrated volume and make it a fascinating read." --Helene Woodhams, Librarian, Pima County Public Libraries
"At last, an exquisite book conceived and written by expert Diné weavers who explore 'the breadth and complexity of who we are!' The authors' richly detailed profiles honor their elders and Spider Woman and validate a vital future for Navajo weaving." --Ann Lane Hedland, retired director, The Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies, Arizona State Museum, Tucson
"If you like Navajo textiles, you'll love this book. It puts human faces and stories behind a wonderfully complex art form in which the artists were kept anonymous for far too long." --Steve Nash PhD, Department Chair and Director of Archaeology, Denver Museum of Science and Nature
"Readers will find they have taken a journey across and through the broad landscapes of Navajo lands, stopping along the way to meet family and remember those who have passed but continue through their remembered lives to teach about weaving and its extraordinary powers." --Bruce Bernstein PhD, Executive Director, Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico

"Spider Woman's Children is a thoughtful and heartfelt book that will serve to educate and excite people about the ongoing tradition of Navajo weaving, and no one is more qualified to write on the subject than Barbara and Lynda." --David M. Roch, Director and CEO, Heard Museum
"This is the book I have been wishing someone would write. Interviews with weavers and their families form a moving statement of the place that weaving has at the heart of those families." --Ann Marshall PhD, Director of Research, Heard Museum