Weaving:
Native
Baskets & Blankets
New Exhibit at Tohono Chul Park’s
Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery –
Tucson, AZ
A new exhibit
titled ‘Weaving: Native Baskets and Blankets’ has opened in Tohono
Chul Park’s Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery. This exhibit will run for a
full year, featuring selections from the Park’s permanent collection
together with items loaned by local collectors. The focus is on
regional Native crafts of basketry and textiles, which are both
created using the weaving process.
There will be
several examples of the most prolific basket makers, the Tohono
O’odham. Tohono O’odham basket makers often use the natural color of
desert fibers. Black from devil’s claw and green and sun-bleached
fibers of yucca can be used in variation to weave their coiled
designs. Tohono O’odham basket weaver Anita Antone, who was the
first to sign her work, has woven a small basket with a stunning
Night Blooming Cereus motif using only naturally pigmented
materials.
Also on display
will be some Hopi wicker baskets, which are the most colorful
Southwest baskets because of their use of commercial dyes. Like
weaving designs, basketry patterns can be pleasing geometrics of
contrasting natural color or can incorporate simple pictorial
elements like an ear of corn, a kachina or a raincloud.
‘Weaving: Native
Baskets and Blankets’ will remain open for one year. Admission to
the exhibit is free with admission to the Park and the hours of the
Wells Fargo Foyer Gallery are 8am-5pm Monday-Saturday. The Gallery
is closed on Sundays.
Photos
featured:
Saguaro Harvester (above),”
a basketry sculpture by Tohono O’odham artist Della Cruz 2006.3.1,
Hopi wicker plaque with Crow Mother design 86.2.43, mini crystal
type blanket by Navajo artist Matilda Yazzie, and Tohono O’odham
lidded jar 98.1.15
Hopi
Malo Kachina
wearing traditional Hopi sash 86.2.23, flag pictorial weaving by
Navajo artist Joanne Begay from a private collection, Hopi plaited
sifter basket 86.2.40, a pottery shard painted by Tohono O’odham
artist Michael Chiago from a private collection, and basket weaver
folk figure by Tohono O’odham artist Chepa Franco.
Tohono Chul Park is the Southwest’s
center where nature, art, and culture connect. Educational programs,
art, and cultural exhibits, nature trails, gardens, and special
events offer the visitor the opportunity to experience the desert
and all its treasurers.
For
more about Tohono Chul Park -
Click Here.
