I want to thank all of you who participated in Convergence 2010 in Albuquerque.  It was the first time I attended a Convergence conference.  What a wonderful time I had!! 

I taught the Navajo Weaving Bootcamp Class along with Rose Dedman, Jennie Slick and Mary Walker.  We had about 53 students in a huge space we called “the echo room”!  Actually, once we got started it was not a problem to be in that room.  I want to thank Rose, Jennie, Mary and Pat for helping me in with the first ever class I taught.  I also want to thank my students for being patient and having a sense of humor.  I enjoyed meeting all of you and look forward to doing it again next year. 

-Morris

I have one more offering of Navajo weaving tools.  This handmade Navajo weaving batten is made from oak.  If you interested, I have included a Paypal link to purchase it.  If you are interested in purchasing and  live in Albuquerque or the Santa Fe area, I could meet you and not pay the shipping cost.  Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.  Thank you!

Handmade Navajo Weaving Batten  Made of oak on the Navajo Reservation.  This is an authentic Navajo-made weaving tool for Navajo-style weaving. L=24″, W=1.5″.   SOLD

I like to try different styles of jewelry in terms of shapes, embellishments and forms. I present to you a piece that is experimental at a bargain price of $200 each plus $8 shipping.

I am a known artist both for weaving and jewelry-making in the Native art world.  Keep in mind that the “first” of a series or a new form will always be worth more in the long term if buyers want to re-sell my pieces in galleries or even donating these pieces to a museum.  Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.  Enjoy!

Experimental Pin #1     I was inspired by the brooches and pins from the 1920s and 1930s.  I handmade this piece with minimal stamping and set it with natural Emerald Valley turquoise.  W=2″, H=1″. The cones are 5/8″ long. Sterling silver. Price: $200 plus $8 shipping in the U.S.

One of my goals on my site is promote Navajo weaving and Navajo made products.  I want to make Navajo handspun yarns, Navajo made weaving tools and hand-dyed yarn available to fiber artists who have an interest in Navajo weaving.

A few years ago I “hand-dyed” dozens of skeins of Navajo Churro wool by fermenting them in a prickly pear dye bath.  I purchased my yarn from Connie Taylor when she was still living in Ojo Caliente, NM. Connie now lives in southern Colorado and she can be reached through her website, http://www.navajo-churrosheep.com/member-webpages/CerroMojino.html.  I’ve known Connie for years and I really like she raises Navajo Churro sheep while still being involved in Dine’ be’ Iina’ (Navajo Lifeway) organization, http://www.navajolifeway.org/.

Here’s how I fermented the skeins of yarn.  I washed my skeins in very warm water to wash out the oils–lanolin and spinning oils–that were still in the yarn.  I then rinsed and soaked the yarn while I sliced up the prickly pear fruits.  I filled my containers with water and added the sliced prickly pears.  I mixed the prickly pear bath differently each time with the wool depending on what I wanted to achieve.  I wanted to make some yarns have more varigated, streaks of color while other were very uniform.  In the end, it was up to Mother Nature’s gifts of prickly pear, water and the fermentation process that produced the following yarns I have available for sale. 

I did rinse and wash the wool after the fermentation so there’s no funky smell in the yarn.  I aired out the yarn and rinsed the yarn.  Word of caution about these colors.  Although the prickly pear fermented dye bath is self-mordanting, the colorfastness is not absolute as with all vegetally dyed yarn.  As a hand-dyer, I am very conscious that I wash my yarn so the excess dye does not “bleed” into the neighboring colors when used in a weaving or knitting project.   In short, please keep in mind the pink color may fade with exposure to different types of light and washing.

 Please contact me if you have any questions. (By the way I usually do not offer my hand-dyed yarn for sale to other fiber artists).  I did the dirty, smelly work for you so you can now enjoy this beautiful naturally dyed pink Navajo Churro wool yarn!

	Prickly Pear yarn #1      Weight: 4oz Navajo Churro wool yarn, single ply This yarn has some light to dark pink streaks in it.  Overall subtle streaky appearance. Quantity: 1 Price: $32 plus $8 shipping in the US
	Prickly Pear yarn #2   Weight: 4oz Navajo Churro wool yarn, single ply This yarn has some light to dark pink streaks in it. Overall subtle streaky appearance.  Quantity: 1 Price: $32 plus $8 shipping in the US
	Prickly Pear yarn #3  Weight: 4oz Navajo Churro wool yarn, single ply This yarn is uniform in color withs some peach to orange highlights. Soft pink color. Quantity: 1 Price: $32 plus $8 shipping in the US
	Prickly Pear yarn #4   Weight: 4oz Navajo Churro wool yarn, single ply This yarn is the darkest pink of the yarns featured here. The actual color is darker than yarn #3 above.  There are some dark pink streaks in this yarn.  Quantity: 1 Price: $32 plus $8 shipping in the US

Here’s another aspect of my weaving class, the supplies.  I’ve tried several types of warps, yarns, and weaving tools.  I can hand-select for you my favorites when it comes to weaving combs, battens, spindles, finishing tools, yarns, and types of warp. 

So the total package of taking my weaving class includes a handmade Navajo loom made by me, weaving lessons in warping and weaving, an opportunity to meet Noel Bennett and Ramona Sakiestewa, and hand-selected tools and supplies to start and finish your first Navajo weaving in my class.  Which other Navajo weaving instructor can offer you all the materials and inspiration to learn Navajo weaving?

I have been working on some spider pins this weekend.  I made 4 spiders–3 are pins and one is a pendant.  I will be posting these pics when I straightenen out my technical difficulty.  I have a feeling it will be until later this week.  Stay tuned for spider pins and pendants.

I’m sure you wonder “Why should I buy weavings and jewelry made by Morris?”.  As an artist, I create well designed pieces instilled with vintage quality and styling.  I also have the reputation for being an award winning weaver and I’ve lead the contemporary, new Navajo weaving movement for the last few years.  My weavings are unique and one-of-a-kind, and will someday fetch high prices at Sotheby’s auctions.  In contrast to my weavings, my jewelry is becoming more sought after.  The exposure of  my jewelry is relatively new in contrast to my weavings.  Collectors of my weavings are also collectors of my jewelry. 

I am also a small business trying to stay afloat in these tough times.  I look forward hearing from you and hope you consider purchasing some of my work for your collection.  Thank you!

I am always interested in learning indigenious weaving techniques. In 2002, I set out on a journey to learn Raven’s Tail and Chilkat weaving.  It has been almost 8 years since I first started to read about Raven’s Tail and its origin in the Pacific Northwest.  I have woven a few Raven’s Tail medicine bags and currently working on a pair of leggings. 

I am posting one of my early Raven’s Tail medicine bags available for sale, and the cover of Cheryl Samuel’s book, The Raven’s Tail, which is currently out of print. I have 2 (maybe 3) more additional Medicine Bags if you are interested.  I am not currently making Medicine Bags.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

	Raven’s Tail Medicine Bag No. 1 is woven on a vertical loom with thigh spun warp without use of a spindle.  Merino Wool. Embellished with plucked beaver fur. Deerhide handle. Fringe finished with tin cones.  Price: $300 plus $8 shipping in U.S.
	Detail of front of the Medicine Bag.  This design is called the Box of Daylight design.
	Back side of the Raven’s Tail Medicine Bag.  Plain weave with a black braided border. Merino wool.  Warp is thigh spun without the use of a spindle.
	Detail of the back side of  the Raven’s Tail Medicine Bag embellished with a Peruvian Coin.  I had just returned from Peru when I began to weave in the Raven’s Tail technique.

On May 9, 2002 the first of three series Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation opened at the then American Craft Museum in New York City.  The American Craft Museum is now known as the Museum of Art and Design.  I had three of my most contemporary weavings in this first series exhibition!  I was quite honored by this exhibition.  My work was so new that I had not sold any of the pieces in this exhibition.  After the pieces were returned to me, all three weavings sold like hotcakes!! 

Here is an excerpt from the catalogue:

“Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation is a landmark new series of three titles that assembles, documents, interprets, and explores the rich diversity of craft, art, and design being produced today by contemporary Native American artists.”

I posted an image of the catalogue that features this exhibition.  I do not know if the Museum of Art and Design still sells this book in their Museum Shop.  Please contact them at www.madmuseum.org.

I want to share with you a wonderful experience I had where I had the opportunity to work with the staff at the Wheelwright Museum to exhibit my weaving during the beginning of my professional weaving career.  I had the opportunity to influence the space in which my weavings would be exhibited by having the walls painted in the sacred colors of my culture, Dine’, but in muted shades of yellow, blue and gray.  The other sacred color is white.  An interview followed where I discussed the inspiration and context in which I created each of my weavings.  The catalogue features wonderful, high quality photos of my sashes, wall hangings, and rugs with commentary in my voice, which was very minimally edited.  This exhibition was featured at the Wheelwright Museum from January 31, 2004 to April 18, 2004. 

I posted an image (below) of the cover of my exhibition catalogue.  Yes, this copy is my working copy so it is somewhat damaged.  Please contact the Case Trading Post if you are interested in purchasing a new catalogue at a bargain price of $10 for unsigned copies.   Enjoy!

Warp to Weft: Weaving by Morris Muskett Price $10 each Contact the Case Trading Post at the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, NM www.casetradingpost.com