Begay, D. Y. – “Transformation” Weaving (2010), Published
D.Y. Begay (b. 1953) is a Navajo textile artist born into the Tóʼtsohnii (Big Water) Clan and born from the Táchiiʼnii (Red Streak Earth) Cla. She is a fifth-generation weaver who grew up surrounded by women weavers. From them she learned sheep herding and shearing, and how to work with wool. She learned to spin and card wool, and traditional Navajo weaving techniques. Her mother taught her to identify plants to make dyes and to understand the dyeing process. At the age of 12, Begay sold her first rug. She later studied fiber arts at Arizona State University.
Begay’s artwork is influenced by her Navajo identity, the forms of nature and the colors of the landscape, flora and fauna. She experiments with combining a natural color palette with unconventional non-reservation color. In a video produced by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, she describes how she makes dyes from plant matter and soils, and thinks of the weaving process as analogous to “painting with yarn”. The horizonal motifs in her work are reflective of the vistas, mesas and plateaus in Navajo country. Some of the ingredients in her dyes are chamisa, juniper berries, sage and a particular fungus that grows on juniper trees. She obtains her wool from her sister who is a sheep farmer.
This weaving is entitled, “Transformation”. It is from 2010 and has Churro, merino, and krakul wools, silk, plant dyes, and inset dye. She wrote of this piece:
“The shapes are evolving. The configurations are forming solid outlines, suggesting mesas or plateaus. The forms indicate flowing motion in between the geometric patterns. I see it as a very abstract landscape design utilizing terraced elements, referencing bold outlines of the mesas that I often see.”
This weaving has been published several times, including in the book, “Sublime Light Tapestry Art of DY Begay” which was her exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, where this weaving was also show. It is in excellent condition.