NEWS
RELEASE

Family is Central to Navajo Weavers' Skill and Success

Date of Release: October 10, 2004

(University of Arizona, Tucson) Barbara Jean Teller Ornelas is one of the most renowned artists in Navajo weaving. She began weaving at the age of six, completed her first piece at eight, and sold it to the Two Grey Hills Trading Post for $10.00. In 1987, she sold a Two Grey Hills-style tapestry woven by herself and her sister Rose Ann for a record $60,000.00. This master weaver's work and cultural expertise is featured in Arizona State Museum's upcoming exhibition Navajo Weaving at Arizona State Museum: 19th Century Blankets/20th Century Rugs/21st Century Views, set to open October 23, 2004.

Barbara feels that the life of a weaver is one for which she was destined. "This is what I was born to do," she says. "I'm good at it and I know my grandmothers are there to help me when I'm stuck." Putting all her emotions into her rugs, she perceives them as direct connections to her grandmother and sister. She sees her pieces as her children -- watching them grow little by little, and then watching them leave home.

Barbara comes from multiple generations of weavers that include her mother, Ruth Teller, and her grandmother, Susie Tom. Her aunt and uncle tend the family's flock of sheep and the wool is divided among family members. "Various members of my family have shaped not only the way I weave, but also the values I've connected to my art." She received her first weaving lessons from her paternal grandmother, Nellie Teller. "She was the first to envision my potential and taught me as much about family as she did about weaving. My mother, Ruth Teller, maternal grandmother, Susie Tom, aunts, Margaret Yazzie and Mary Louise Gould, my sisters, Rose Ann Teller Lee and Lynda Teller Pete, my daughter, Sierra Nizhonii Teller Ornelas, and my son, Michael Paul Teller Ornelas, have played important roles in my career as a professional weaver."

Born on November 26, 1954 in Colorado to the Tábaahá (Edge of Water People-maternal clan) and Tó'aheedlíinii (Water That Flows Together People—paternal clan) clans, Barbara was raised near the Two Grey Hills Trading Post where her father, Sam Teller, was a trader. "From making my looms, to counseling me on what traders look for in good weavings, he was a constant source of strength for me." Husband David Ornelas' commitment to Barbara's talent has also had a profound effect on her work. The sale of Barbara's work over the years helped put David through pharmacy school at the University of Arizona.

Barbara sets goals and has high expectations not only for herself, but for the future of Navajo weaving. Eclectic in her tastes and style, she weaves rugs that incorporate the Two Grey Hills, Burntwater, and Ganado styles and colors. No matter the style or format, Barbara's work continues to earn awards, recognition, record prices, and has placed her among the very elite of the world's most respected contemporary weavers.

Barbara's work and that of her family are featured in Arizona State Museum's newest exhibition. Working for the past year with exhibition curator Ann Lane Hedlund of Arizona State Museum, Barbara, Sierra, and Michael selected both the historic blankets and modern rugs and wall hangings on display from more than 500 examples. Their personal comments about each textile in the exhibition sheds light on the varied meanings that Navajo weaving holds for weavers in today's world. The exhibition highlights several of Barbara's extremely fine tapestries along with others by her son, her daughter, and her aunt, Margaret Yazzie.

This exhibition and related programs are co-sponsored by the Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies and made possible through support from Arizona Commission on the Art, National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Arizona Foundation, the R.C. and S.B. Ernst Foundation, Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association, Dr. & Mrs. Daniel E. Albrecht, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Collett, Susan Brown McGreevy, Edgar O. Smith, Dr. J. Mark Sublette, Medicine Man Gallery, Mr. &. Mrs. H. A. Thompson, and many other generous friends.