I was trying to remember how I met Laverne Barber. She is the daughter of Anna Mae Barber who was the oldest sister of the five Burnham area weavers. When their mother died, Anna Mae basically raised Marie. Alice, Helen and Sandy. They are all world class Navajo weavers.

Back in the 1970's, I was a working in my father's rug room when Helen brought a weaving in. Not long after, the other family members started to bring their pieces into the showroom. They were very different from the weavings that you normally saw, combining elements from all of the weaving areas, using all hand spun wool and breaking most of the rules about Navajo design.

navajo_weaving_burnham_003872



I loved them and we hit it off really well. I started visiting the Burnham area and got to know the whole family, including Anna Mae's two weaving children, Laverne and Betsy. These two young women taught me much about weaving and were always a joy to work with.

navajo_weaving_laverne_begay_003933

$2,400

Laverne has always been one of my favorite people. Back in the 80s, through a program with the Navajo Tribe, she was given all of the lumber and most of the materials to build a home. She, her kids and her cousins built it themselves. It was before there was electricity or potable water available at Burnham, but they piped and wired the home to be ready.



laverne-barber-burnham-weaving-003566a

$2,700

You may have heard the saying that when, on Groundhog Day, which is always sunny on the reservation, if the Groundhog sees his shadow, there are six more weeks of basketball. Well, Laverne loves basketball, but with no electricity, it was hard to watch the games on the small set she had. Her cousins wired her pickup to charge an extra battery and she could pull the truck up to the side of the house and hook up the television using some cables she ran out a window and she never missed a Michael Jordan playoff game!



laverne_barber_burnham_003021



The curator from The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York once called and asked if we could have a weaver make an American Flag rug. Laverne worked with a woman in Durango, Beverly Anderson, who dyed some of her yarn with indigo and cochineal (the original vegetal blue and red dyes used in the old wearing blankets) and created a stunning flag. She like working with these colors and their partnership continued for years.



001819_1

Laverne Barber Burnham Area Weaving, C004349

$3,500 

Laverne took a period of time off from weaving to work for the Chapter House, but a few years ago, we had someone order a special piece that was something that sounded like Laverne would like to do. Antonia called her and she made the weaving and has been back at the loom on a regular basis since then.



navajo_weaving_burnham_003928_1_

This last month, Laverne brought in a really sweet little piece that is woven with handspun wool using all vegetal dyes and natural wool colors. You do not find many contemporary weavings with cochineal and indigo dye today. This weaving combines elements of Chief's blankets and traditional Navajo geometric designs.

Laverne-Barber-Begay_1

$1,200

It is a wonderful example of Laverne's creativity. It measures 23 inches by 40 inches and is priced at $1200. We thought you might like to have one of this talented weaver's works in your home!

Thanks for following our blog!