During the retreat I taught in Taos last month, I took a bit of time at lunch to walk downtown and duck into a couple of stores I like to visit. I was long out of time, but was walking by the Taos Center for the Arts (TCA) before racing through Kit Carson park back to my students when I remembered an important detail I failed to put on the class calendar that week. The Ancestral Futures show was still up at the TCA. So I resolved to be late and ducked into the gallery. I was so glad I did!

I am adding the statement from the show below because it is inspiring. This show was a celebration of students and teachers and their work in textiles. It was a wonderful show of some of the best-known names in southwestern textiles and an opportunity to examine a piece of work from each artist.

The artists are among my favorites in the southwest. They came from Diné, Hispanic, Pueblo, and European traditions and sometimes a mix of all of that! Here are a few photos. Enjoy!

Entrance wall to the Futuros Ancestros show in Taos, Nov 2024

If you’re a weaver who is familiar with Northern New Mexico you likely know the next three artists. Kristina Wilson, Rachel Brown, and Joan Potter Loveless are the powerful weaving trio described in the book Three Weavers (I recommend it if you can get your hands on a copy!). I was thrilled to see a piece by each of them in the show.

Three Weavers: Kristina Wilson, Rachel Brown, and Joan Potter Loveless

Tapestry by Kristina Wilson — Kristina Wilson, *Inadequate Umbrella,* Wool, 1980

Kristina Wilson, *Inadequate Umbrella (detail),* Wool, 1980

Rachel Brown is a personal hero of mine and I suspect of many weavers who were around her during her lifetime in Taos. Some of the first tapestries I sold were through her gallery, Weaving Southwest which was fortunately kept alive by her granddaughter, Teresa Loveless near the end of Rachel’s life. Her book, The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing book is a classic in the fiber art world and many of you probably have it on your shelves.

Another important fiber figure in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado is Connie Taylor. When I was a student at Northern NM Community College in the mid 2000s, I visited her farm where she had 14 different natural colors of churro sheep. It was astounding. I purchased yarn from them for my saltillo project in the Fiber Arts Program in El Rito. Connie has been instrumental in the future of churro sheep in New Mexico and though she no longer has her own farm, she continues to source churro yarn from reservation shepherds and sometimes you can even buy some. Her tapestry below is an intriguing one!

Tapestry by Connie Taylor — Connie Taylor, *Food and Fiber future?,* natural churro wool, 2001

There were a few gorgeous sash belts from Pueblo weaver Louie Garcia. If you have a chance to hear a talk by Louie or attend one of his demonstrations or classes, I highly recommend it. He was teaching next to me at SOAR a few years ago. We could hear the class beating the cotton they were preparing throughout the week along with a lot of laughter and some singing. I definitely wished I was a student in his class!

Louie Garcia, *Complimentary Floated Warp Sash,* natural indigo on wool belt, 2020

Just as seeing the Three Weavers’ work hung next to each other was a powerful sight, this wall of work by the Trujillo family of Chimayo made me stop in my tracks. Left to right these tapestries are by Emily Trujillo, her mother Lisa Trujillo, Emily’s father Irvin Trujillo, and the last one on the right is also by Emily.

If you are ever in Northern New Mexico, it is imperative that you stop at Centinela Traditional Arts in Chimayo. Get a room at a bed and breakfast there and spend some time in this amazing place. Irvin and Lisa Trujillo not only are nationally recognized weavers (Irvin is collected by the Smithsonian), but they support the weavers in their community by teaching and selling their work in their shop. They’ve recently added a classroom as well.

Their daughter Emily Trujillo who’s tapestries are pictured on each side of her parents’ below, is someone to watch. Not only is she one of the founders of Futuros Ancestral, she is a skilled artist and teacher. I have so much respect for this project and her work furthering weaving in this part of the country and by extension, the rest of the world.

Emily Trujillo, *Taste the Tempest (detail),* 2023

Lisa Trujillo, *A Verdant Spring (detail),* 2023

Irvin Trujillo, *Emergence (detail),* 2011

Tapestry by Irvin Trujillo Emergence — Irvin Trujillo, *Emergence (detail),* 2011

Emily Trujillo, *Broken Melodies of a Fairy Tale,* (rightmost tapestry), 2024

Then there was a wall of contemporary Diné weavers. The mastery of Lynda Teller Pete and her sister Barbara Teller Ornelas is legendary. They’re fine weaving in incredible detail is a joy to behold and the piece pictured below by Lynda was fascinating to see still on the loom.

Lynda is not only a fabulously skilled weaver, she teaches all over the world bringing knowledge of Diné textiles to many cultures. She and Barbara also work hard to teach Diné youth weaving skills that might otherwise be lost. She works for museums and her recent project for the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe sought to unite the two halves of rug dresses separated for sale over the centuries. (You can watch her talk about this project on the SAR YouTube channel HERE.) If you’re looking for a beautiful book about Diné textiles, Lynda and Barbara wrote a book called Spider Woman’s Children which I reviewed HERE.

Tapestry by Lynda Teller Pete still on the Navajo loom — Lynda Teller Pete, *Diné tapestry weaving,* textile, wool, 2024

Detail of Navajo tapestry weaving by Lynda Teller Pete — Lynda Teller Pete, *Diné tapestry weaving (detail),* textile, wool, 2024

I was excited to see the piece below by Roy Kady in person. I’d seen photos of it as it has been in a few shows before this one. The texture, materials, and the way he wove the piece was inspiring to see in person. I couldn’t appreciate the materials or techniques from the photos I’d seen before. I’ve included quite a few details so you can see some of the marvelous work yourself. (I think this one might be for sale unlike most of the work in this show!)

Tapestry by Roy Kady — Roy Kady, *Dr. Sunnie Clahchischiligi,* handspun, vegetal dyed and commercial dyed wool, corn husks, angora mohair, 2024

Roy Kady, *Dr. Sunnie Clahchischiligi (detail),* handspun, vegetal dyed and commercial dyed wool, corn husks, angora mohair, 2024

Tyrrell Tapaha is another Diné weaver who has learned from Roy Kady but is clearly mastering his own path in the weaving world. There is an image of one of his rug dresses in my blog post about the Horizons show in Santa Fe HERE. He is another young weaver worth following closely!

Tyrrell Tapaha, *Cool Beans,* Diné tapestry, handspun and vegetal dyed Navajo-churro and New Zealand wool, 2023

Tyrrell Tapaha, *Cool Beans (detail),* Diné tapestry, handspun and vegetal dyed Navajo-churro and New Zealand wool, 2023

Kevin Aspaas is a master of weave structures. He is a Diné weaver who is well known for his wedge weaves (see THIS blog post about the Horizons show for an example; also see examples of Lynda Teller Pete, Tyrrell Tapaha, and Roy Kady’s work in the Horizons show). The textile pictured below is a double weave woven on a Navajo loom. Those of you who understand weave structures, just think about that for a minute. Kevin has another piece where he used rosepath patterning in a wedge weave. All of that is astounding to see especially considering that though he has been weaving since he was a little kid, he isn’t yet 30 years old. I can’t wait to see what the rest of his career brings. Like Lynda Teller Pete, Kevin also had a fellowship at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe working on the technique of wedge weave this year. You can watch his talk about his project on YouTube HERE.

My only regrets about this show? That I hadn’t missed the public event a few days before, that it wasn’t ten times as large with many examples of the work of these artists, and that I didn’t have more time that day to study the work more closely. I will keep my eye on this organization for more exciting shows and community work. Kudos to Emily Trujillo and Layne Jackson Hubbard for starting this organization, securing funding, and showcasing the fiber work of artists in Northern New Mexico. Their work facilitating learning and embracing all the weaving cultures in this area of the country is much needed. Please visit the Futuros Ancestral (Ancestral Futures) website here: https://www.futuros-ancestral.org

Thanks for coming along with me!

Ancestral Futures show in Taos

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