"The Navajo Churro Collection" 2001

The Getzwiller Collection of Contemporary Navajo Weavings
November 4, 2000 – January 28, 2001

"The Navajo Churro Collection" was part of a major exhibition at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg Arizona. The exhibition represented Steve’s accomplishments and contributions to Navajo Weaving from 1975-2000, featuring the best weaving examples resulting from the collaborative work between Steve and some of the finest Navajo weavers of our time.

Steve Getzwiller began working with Navajo weavers in the Wide Ruin area of the Navajo reservation and encouraged the ladies to expand their natural dye palates. He also encouraged them to expand their design ideas by giving them books of Souix beadwork designs, resulting in some fabulous textiles which were featured by Nellie Roan, Agnes Smith, Betty Roan, Annie Tsosie, and more.

This was the beginning of the journey which brought about the collaboration between these ladies and Alice Balone and Sadie Curtis who wove the first and last ever collaborated Navajo dyed and woven Burntwater weaving. This weaving and all of these ladie were featured in Steve's Book and the early Arizona Highways Navajo Rug issue, which brought on a demand for the Burntwater rug in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Steve's growth took him to different areas of interest in design, seeking out the best materials to weave (Churro Wool), and cultivating new weavers to work with. The final room of the exhibition featured the Nez family which was a delight to the eyes, Teec Nos Pos, Pictorials, Bistie, and more.

This exhibition featured over 60 masterpieces of weaving, resplendent in colors and textures that celebrate the evolution of Navajo weaving at the close of the 20th century, and the return of the Churro tradition.

• Desert Caballeros Western Museum •
21 North Frontier Street
Wickenburg, Arizona 85390
(928) 684-2272
www.westernmuseum.org