Having participated in some 14 Taos and Santa Fe Wool Festivals, it became relatively easy for both Fred and I to anticipate and give appropriate answers to many questions asked during these events.  "Is this your work?"  "Where do you get your patterns for these rugs?" "Do you dye your own wool?"  "Do you have your own flock of Navajo-Churro Sheep?"  And when referencing a particular rug, "How long did it take you to make this?" was one of the most common questions.  

The answers would be "Yes, this is my work", "I take inspiration from many weavers and from the world around me, but the designs are all my original designs."  "Sometimes I dye the wool myself, but most of it comes from Connie Taylor" (and these days from the people at Tierra Wools)", "No, we do not have a flock of churro sheep."  And in the case of Rug 437 featured in today's blog, it took Fred roughly a month to weave.  And that is weaving between four and six hours every day, weekends and holidays included.

Rug 437 would be considered in the broader category of "craftsman" style, with flowers (red tulips here with green stems) around the edges of the entire rug.  The Scottish architect, designer and artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was famous for his nouveau rose as well as other "craftsman" designs (sometimes called Glasgow Style).   In this rug, Fred's stylized tulips are horizontal rather than vertical.

Rug 437 under construction 2

Rug 437 under construction 1 2026
 

Rug 437

The Spirit Line or "ch'ihónít'i" is a Navajo custom that allows a weaver's spirit to exit safely from the center tapestry of a piece, separating them from their weaving and from any harmful thoughts that may come into contact with it.  Although he is not Navajo, Fred always includes a spirit line when weaving a piece with solid borders to honor this tradition.   The spirit line appears in the upper right hand corner of the photograph shown below.  You can also see the kemp - wild looking pieces of wool in the rug.  Jennifer Douglass, of the Rio Milagro Foundation, describes "kemp" beautifully here:

"Most people have never heard of kemp. To a Churro sheep, it is one of their “superpowers” that makes them climate heroes.

Kemp, found in the fleeces of the most primitive sheep around the world, is a hard, brittle, opaque, medullated fiber (possessing a core of air-filled cells) found in the fleece of some sheep. It is usually coarser and much shorter than the wool fibers with which it is associated. After growing for a limited time, it is shed and frequently lies loose in the fleece."  It was interesting to me how the kemp of the Navajo-Churro grey wool almost absorbed the dyed light green, which was very bright when rolled into a ball.  

Rug 437 spirit line detail

Flowers and weaving almost always fit well together.  

Rug 437 with gerber daisy 1 2026

Thanks to Tim, Rebecca A. TTT, Terry T., Catherine, Marilyn G., and Steve for writing this week!  

You can check out Fred's work at bigsageartisans.com

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image©