Nizhoni Ranch News
ELSIE BIA MASTER NAVAJO WEAVER TO DEMONSTRATE FEB 28TH "Woven Holy People"
Reac about Elsie Bia in the Western Art Collector Magazine. She will be at the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery February 28th demonstrating on this new Yei weaving. We are excited to see how far she is up on the rug! We are very excited that one of our Churro Collection Master Weavers was featured as a Focus Artist in the March 2015 edition of Western Art Collector Magazine.Congratulations to Elsie Bia !!!
Below is Elsie at Canyon de Chelly and Spider Rock featured in our latest advertisement in Western Art Collector Magazine
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- Brad Rees
NAVAJO YEI WEAVINGS CREATE A STIR
The news is spreading about the show. The Navajo Yeis and Yei Be Cheis are dancing in the Gallery.Southeastern Arizona gallery announces major show
It’s one of America’s oldest art forms, and now one special facet is being honored with its own show. Admirers of the textile art created by Navajo weavers marvel at the complexity and sheer beauty of these pieces, which take months, sometimes even years to painstakingly create by hand.
It takes the best of the best of these artisans to weave their spirituality into a rug or blanket. This is what the show, “Whoven Holy People” is all about.
From Feb. 28 to May 28, the Nizhoni Ranch Gallery in Sonoita is presenting more than 60 woven pieces with yeis, yei be cheis and sandpainting designs. Gallery owner and widely recognized Navajo weaving expert Steve Getzwiller considers this one of the most important single-subject showings in his 40-plus year career.
“These are from my own personal collection,” he said. “There are several examples that we have that were clearly woven by the same weaver, which is pretty unique.”
Sandpaintings are considered an integral part of blessing or healing ceremonies to cure a person’s physical or spiritual ills.
While sandpaintings themselves are temporary, a weaving like this is permanent, which is why sandpainting rugs or blankets can be controversial as it depicts certain features considered so revered by the Dine, the Navajos.
The yeis and yei be cheis are isolated elements of the ceremonies themselves, but are still considered holy people by the Navajos. It’s a subject Getzwiller says less than 1 percent of weavers have the talent and knowledge to tackle.
“That’s because it is sensitive and sacred imagery,” said Getzwiller. “A weaver has to have gone through the ceremonies and received clearance so to speak from the medicine man and the spirits of the Dine. The design will then flow through them to the loom.”
The show is kicking off a day early, Feb. 27, with a private showing for invited guests. On that day, as well as Sunday, Feb. 28, when the exhibit officially opens, Master Weaver Elsie Bia will be demonstrating her craft. This award-winning artist from Chinle, who learned her art from her grandmother, is the last in her family to weave these truly incredible pieces.
As this is a small gallery, its recommended attendees call ahead, to 455-5020 to reserve a time.
Nizhoni Ranch Gallery is located less than an hour southeast of Tucson. More information can be found on the gallery’s website, www.navajorug.com.
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New Arrival Two Navajo Corn Yeis Dominate their Wall
It is difficult to see, but the two Corn Stalk Yeis are surrounded by birds and of course Spider Woman Crosses. Our latest piece to hang as we get ready for the "Woven Holy People Show" Opening February 28th with Elsie Bia, Master Weaver, demonstrating at her loom.
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Happy Valentines Day to You
Valentine RugWishing a Happy Valentines Day to All. ♥ Hope you enjoy the day ♥
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Navajo Rug Show & Sale Preparations
Navajo Rug Show & Sale Preparations - The walls are dancing!! Show extended by Popular Demand!! Don't miss it! Here is a sneak preview of a small portion of the Nizhoni Ranch House Gallery! The Holy People are dancing around the gallery!!
Spirits abound!!!
“Woven Holy People” February 28 – May 28, 2016 Now over 60 weavings that will date from the 1900’s to the present. Yei, Yei Be Chei and Sandpainting textiles. Our first in Gallery Show!!!
During the Opening February 28th, Master Navajo Weaver Elsie Bia will be demonstrating her weaving expertise. She has a Yei weaving on the loom! Elsie Bia click here to see her weavings. A Catalog of the weavings will be available at the show! May be the biggest Navajo Weaving Show of the Year with many rare and extremely fine examples on display!! Sales have already started - some good friends will be finding new homes. We love this collection and are excited to share it with you! Steve and Gail Getzwiller- fiverr fiver
Navajo Yei Weaving Show
UPCOMING SHOW Mark Your Calendar!! FEB 28 – May 28 - Extended through May by popular demand!
Holy Girl Yei Navajo Pictorial Weaving. She is over 8' Tall!
click here for more info on the upcoming show presents ” WOVEN HOLY PEOPLE” Show and Sale OPENING Sunday February 28, 2016 Reserve your space for the Opening Day with Steve Getzwiller.
“Woven Holy People” February 28 – May 28, 2016 Over 50 weavings will date from the 1900’s to the present. Yeis, Yei Be Chei and Sandpainting textiles. Our first in Gallery Show!!!
I get more excited about the "Holy Woven People" show every day. As we hang the weavings and put together the history and information about each piece, it brings us so much closer to the Navajo spirit and origin. For example -this just makes me feel the peace and sacred heart of the Navajo : Gary Whiterspoon writes a Navajo saying which describes best the Navajo Hozho- ideal of beauty and the Navajo placement within. shil hozho with me there is beauty shii hozho in me there is beauty shaa hozho from me beauty radiates In the Navajo Creation Story, there exists numerous persona identified as Holy People or Yeibichai who exemplify the concepts of hozho. Yet these same Holy People also have the potential to create their dynamic opposites as seen in such qualities as chaos, foolishness and ugliness. This duality of beauty and harmony co-existing with chaos and disorder is indeed the central theme of the traditional Navajo culture and of weaving as well. CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE CATALOG A few more examples below… Steve & Gail Getzwiller
Helene Nez working at the loom of one of the few Navajo Sandpainting weavings she has finished. I say few because each one takes 2 years to complete. This is an image of the Arrow People Yei.
Yei Be Chei - circa 1940 - 5' high by 8' wide. A monumental piece!!!
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UPCOMING SHOW Mark Your Calendar!! FEB 28 - APRIL 2
click here for more info on Sandpainting Weavings
NIZHONI RANCH GALLERY presents " WOVEN HOLY PEOPLE" Show and Sale OPENING Sunday February 28, 2016 Reserve your space for the Opening Day with Steve Getzwiller.
"Woven Holy People" February 28 - extended by popular demand to May 28,2016 Over 60 weavings will date from the 1900’s to the present. Yeis, Yei Be Chei and Sandpainting textiles. Our first in Gallery Show!!!
This is one of the strongest single focus shows assembled by Steve since the "Treasures of the Navajo Horsemen" at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg Arizona. The gems are emerging from our shelves, closets, and vault. As we get reacquainted with the Navajo Holy People we feel something special, as we are sure you will, when you have the chance to view them in person. We are honored to be able to present them to you at The Nizhoni Ranch Gallery.
Up close and personal! All of the weavings are on display - touchable - no loop required! We have also installed new gallery lighting so you won't miss a thing, in detail or design!
We look forward to sharing these artful masterpieces with you! Some will enthrall you, some will give you a window into the past, and others will amaze you at the Navajo weavers talent and stamina.
A few examples below... Steve & Gail Getzwiller
GHT 2086 : Dragon Fly Yei Pictorial
GHT 2168 "Male & Female Yeis"
3215 : Christine Chischilly : 2nd Place 2015 Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial
GHT 2074 YEI BE CHEI DANCERS
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New Arrivals
Just a few of the Fresh Pickens From the Res! Check out the link to see the others!
Back to Nizhoni Ranch News Blog
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Memorial Day Salute!
THANK YOU TO ALL VETERANS WHO HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY !!!
Hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday
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Large Navajo Rugs
Another large Navajo Rug has arrived, just off the loom! Thank You Geraldine Phillips for all your beautiful work !Large Navajo rugs for sale are hard to find. We have the best selection available. Call or email today.
Here is a link to our large catagory
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Katherine Marianito – Lady with Courage
Navajo Name: Yiintbaah – Lady with Courage
Born: May 15, 1932
Clans: Redhouse Born for Edge Water (Tabahi)
Chii: Bitterwater, Naali – Nodo dine tachini
Kathy Marianito descends from a long line of some of the finest blanket weavers in Navajo history. A great-great-grandchild of Juanita, considered one of the finest blanket weavers in the 1870-80s, and Manuelito, a prominent leader of the Navajo who helped negotiate their release from Fort Sumner in 1868; she’s inherited a great legacy.
Fortunately, it’s a legacy she’s been proud to represent and has done so quite gracefully. A natural weaver and artist in her own right, she began stealing her mother’s yarn at just 8 years old so she could “weave” it on a nearby fence. Once she was discovered, what began as a difficult challenge quickly became a lifelong passion.
Her mother would gently push her to learn to do it on her own, with subtle gestures and guidance as she grew more confident in her skills. It wasn’t long before she’d made six blankets in a summer so she could trade them for shoes and clothes for boarding school.
Kathy reminds us that it was her mother’s words that were the biggest lesson in our success: “You have to learn it, so you know next time to do it better.”
“My very own hands, my designs…that’s how I got started.”
Before long she learned how to wash sheep’s wool, how to dry it, and how to spin and dye it using plants like sage, sunflowers and tumbleweeds as natural colors. She laughs and says, “We tried everything!”
By 15, however, things began to change and she was to be married in an arranged marriage to an older man. Always the one to strike out on her own path, she instead decided to take off. Taking with some clothes and what little money she had, she rode off on a horse and boarded a bus for Salt Lake City.
The excitement and adventure took hold and for the first time off the reservation, she began educating herself and became a seamstress. She eventually moved on to California, only going back to the reservation for quick visits, stating, “I’d come back to the reservation, but it was lonely because I was a city girl now.” Kathy would laugh.
Years later she did return at the behest of her mother, but she decided to use her newfound time to visit homes and take care of those in the community. While she admits to almost losing her language, it was her people and her mother that brought it and her love for weaving back to the forefront.
As she worked with those going through alcohol detox, she found that a good way to help them stay sober was teaching them different crafts and how to learn new habits.
“I taught grandmothers and young girls to sew and quilt; how to design them; even how to make tools for weaving.”
Along the way, Kathy met Lorenzo Marianito, a Navajo medicine man who also came from a family of weavers. This time, however, she found that marriage was the right choice; a decision that has withstood the test of time much like her weavings.
In 1998, Steve Getzwiller heard about Kathy’s beautiful rug-making skills and he convinced her to take her Navajo weaving to a new level. In fact, they were the first to use silk as a fiber in traditional designs, and the only ones incorporating alpaca into their gorgeous, unmistakable art.
Over the next 12 years, Kathy would hone her craft so much so that she became an award-winning weaver. In fact, by 2012, she won many awards including First Place and Best of Category at the Gallup Inter-Tribal All Indian Ceremonial.
Today, her work is highly sought after by collectors and at 85 years young, Kathy still excels in her artwork, the traditions of her past and her present are still there to behold.
She’s quick to recall listening to the tales of her elders, never forgetting the long walk, her search to find herself, while retaining the pride of her people. Kathy Marianito may have ventured out far beyond her mother’s teachings, but each weaving embodies the love she has for her ancestors and her family today.
- jamie getzwiller
