Taos Art School

Pricing | Our Instructor | Class Schedule | Lodging and Meals | Pictures from a previous class

This class is as much about Culture
as it is about Weaving. Pearl Sunrise is a luminous person whose gentle presence will encourage you while her extensive knowledge of these techniques helps your hands to know what to do.

Each morning starts with a Drumming ceremony & Stories. In this way we become centered and ready to weave. Pearl is a great Storyteller ! and we will hear about Spider Woman and her gift to the Diné People

We'll meet on Saturday and then class starts on Sunday so we have a full day to focus on the all important warping. Monday morning we start weaving. Pearl demonstrates a technique which the students then try on their own under her encouraging supervision. All levels are welcome, as each participant works at their own pace.

Come join us! 

Feel free to Call us for more Information about this workshop.
We love to chat about our classes.  575-758-0350

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TAOS PUEBLO CORN DANCE

The Taos Mountain looms above the piled adobe structures that compose Taos Pueblo, the oldest continually inhabited Puebloan village, a vibrant community for over one thousand years. Still today there is no running water, no electricity, no internet, one of the reasons for which is their commitment to preserving their native culture. Stories and traditions are passed through generations orally, often by elders.

The Taos Pueblo Corn Dance is a sacred ceremony that honors the Corn Mothers. It takes place in a ceremonial kiva, which is a space deep underground, before coming above ground for public viewing. Because the Tewa people have a living tradition each dance is unique although a general pattern is followed -- one that has ancient origins. The point of these dances is to pray for rain, help the corn and other crops grow through dancing prayer, and to keep the Earth and her people in balance.

The dance features:

• Dancers: Wearing white leather boots, long colorful dresses, stone and shell jewelry, Indian paintbrushes, and white gourds filled with tiny stones
• Elders: Sitting on stools and beating on drums
• Dance: Dancers snake past each other, low-frequency chants, beads of sweat rolling from the hairlines, and dust blowing into their eyes

Here are some tips for attending a Taos Pueblo Corn Dance:

• Be respectful: The dance is a ceremony, not a performance, so it's considered an honor to see it. Don't applaud after the dance, and don't ask community members about te significance of the dance.
• Don't take cameras or show phones: Cameras may be confiscated.
• There's no admission fee, but there's usually a charge for parking.

Pueblo dances happen when they happen, and after 1:30pm can mean any time around that or much later. Dances last as long as they need to last, usually stay about 1-2 hours. Try to spend this afternoon away from a schedule, clock etc. Things work differently at Pueblos.Tribal communities do not use the clock to determine when it is time to conduct activities. Acts of nature, as well as the sequence of events that must take place (some not for public viewing) usually determine start and finish times for ceremonies.

Here is a rare, 2016, video of a Corn Dance at one of the other Pueblos here in northern New Mexico. You Will Not be permitted To do any kind of recording at the Dance we are invited to attend here at Taos Pueblo, July 2025. Pueblo Corn Dances

PAYMENT : PAYMENT : $3,000 - $5,000. 7 nights / 8 days. July 19 - 26, 2025

Depending on chosen accommodation. Call for details; Ursula. 575 758 0350

This is an immersion experience, and we take great care to make sure everything is covered so that you may have a Physically Nurturing, Artistically Creative and Spiritually Enlightening experience here at The Taos Art School.

We try to be very clear about what is covered, and we welcome any questions: Ursula (575-758-0350)

The one fee covers:

Please take a look at the General schedule as well for clarification.

• Tuition - All art instruction with Pearl Sunrise and Family. This is Really why you are here !
• Meals - Meals as indicated: Breakfast -7. /. Lunch-6. /. Dinner- 5. Prepared by our private chef. There are 2 dinners not included in this meal plan because these are the 2 nights that we have activities planned in town, and we have found than people like to explore our many fine restaurants instead of coming back to the lodge.
• Body Enrichment: Included: Guided morning walk and morning Yoga. Afternoon Individual massage sessions with an on-site licensed massage therapist are not included, and, are paid directly to the practitioner.
• Off Campus activities: There are no extra fees for either the historical weavings or the Corn Dance.
• Lodging: This is where there is a price variation depending on type of room you choose. Regardless of what kind of room you are in, the rest of your experience is the same with everyone else, same meals, same weaving instruction, same lodge amenities, same extra enrichment activities. Please check out the attached description of each of the 18 rooms in this inimitable lodge. hyperslowretreatcenter.com
• Taxes and Gratuities: ALL taxes are included: Federal, State, and Local Lodgers tax. 20% gratuities are included for Food service and Housekeeping

What's not included:

Weaving Materials- These are paid to Pearl at the end of class and are roughly:

• Please bring a firm pillow for sitting. This for your chair, we are not on the ground.
• Loom Rental (no tools) - $45.00
• Loom Rental (with comb and batton) - $ 55.00
• Warp Set-up, shed sticks, heddles - $ 60.00
• Yarn (4 skeins for the class project) - $9.00 x 4 = $36.00 A variety of colors will be set out on a table for students to use as needed.

At the end of the week, you will be charged for only what you have used. You may also purchase extra yarn to take home.

• Parking is included at the Lodge, but may not be included at Taos Pueblo for the Corn Dance.
• Body Enrichment: The one fee that is not included, is for the private massage sessions with an on-site licensed massage therapist
• Transportation: Each student is responsible for transportation, tho ride -shares can sometimes be arranged. Most of you will fly into either Albuquerque or Denver International airports The puddle jumper into Taos Airport from TX and CA is also a possibility.

We are delighted to be able to offer participants in this year's Navajo Weaving and Culture class an immersion experience by arranging for our exclusive use of a wonderful historic lodge in Taos.

San Geronimo Lodge's amenities include the following:

• Swimming Pool
• 2 Acres of lush grounds
• A great Hall for Class
• A Tea room for Dining
• A light filled Yurt for Yoga or class space
• A private Cook is hired just for us for the week
• Library
• Sauna
• Fire pit
• Picnic area
• Parking area

Along with your fellow weaving participants, Pearl Sunrise and her family are staying with us at the Lodge as we share a relaxing yet productive week full of laughter, great meals, peaceful surroundings, and multi-faceted learning with evening storytelling around a bonfire. Fee includes 7 nights lodging and full use of the grounds.

Our meals, prepared and served for us on the premises by our private chef, will be lacto-ovo vegetarian. This includes: All 7 breakfasts; 6 Lunches; and 5 Dinners. Please see schedule for details.

The San Geronimo Lodge, built in 1925 as the first Taos resort hotel, is in the style of a grand old lodge, with traditional thick adobe walls, vast common rooms, high viga ceilings, rambling verandas, and winding portals. Each of our 18 Taos B&B rooms has a private bath. With over two acres of natural serenity, the property boasts apricot trees on the banks of the Acequia Madre and an unfettered view of Taos Mountain. The San Geronimo Lodge has a Prayer Path, that includes a one-third mile meandering loop around the entire lodge property, beginning and ending near a labyrinth.

* The lodge is also under the name Hyperslow Retreat Center.

View rooms : hyperslowretreatcenter.com

"The Morning Ceremonies with Pearl Sunrise created a sense of Peace that lasted throughout the day. I think they were really essential to this entire experience of feeling the Navajo Culture along with learning the techniques of weaving."

"When I saw that the once-a-year Corn Dance Ceremony at Taos Pueblo was included I knew I had to come. Very special!"

"Having relaxation opportunities set up for us, such as: Swimming, Sauna,Yoga, Nature walks, Drumming, and Massage, made this a very enjoyable vacation as well as provided necessary release from the physical demands of weaving. I have been weaving for many years, and was delighted to experience the important Navajo concept of 'Balance'."

"Warping 2 small looms on the first day was an eye opener for me. As Pearl Says 'Your hands will learn how to do this, you brain cannot do it alone.' I could feel my whole body engaging in the activity, and it has stayed with me in a deep way."

"I am so pleased with my first little rug! I wasn't sure I could do this, but with 2 teachers, the class easily accommodated both beginners as well as more advanced people. The Navajo Way does not teach in 'lock-step' fashion, but with individual awareness."

"'Walking in Beauty' is the Navajo Way and Pearl Sunrise is a luminous presence in this tradition."