Taos Art School - Pearl Sunrise Weaving

THE TAOS ART SCHOOL

"We learned not only
Navajo Weaving Techniques
but also experienced some
of the vibrant Navajo Culture
through ceremonies & stories.
Pearl is an engaging storyteller,
and shares personal accounts
of her life as well as
traditional tales
about Spider Woman"

NAVAJO WEAVING & CULTURE

Beginning/Intermediate:
July 10-17, 2010
Now 2 Spaces Available
Tuition: $565, Materials Extra
Limited to 12 Participants
Class Supplies | Our Instructor
Class Schedule | Costs | Directions
Class Location | Lodging
View pictures from a previous class

YOUR CLASS EXPERIENCE

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. After each morning’s drumming ceremony, she will demonstrate 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. We share Meals, Walks, Pools, and Laughter as an ancient way of knowing soaks into your soul. Come join us! We have chosen as our class location the Ojo Caliente Spa & Mineral Pools, located about an hour from Taos. Past experience has taught us that weaving students really appreciate an opportunity to relax in warm water, and perhaps get a massage, after a day working on a loom. Thus being refreshed and ready for the next day and able to take full advantage of this unique opportunity. http://ojocalientesprings.com/

Pearl Sunrise assisting a student in a 1997 workshop
Photo by John H. Beck

Class Schedule

Fri 7/9

Sat 7/10

Sun 7/11

Mon 7/12

Tue 7/13

Wed 7/14

Thu 7/15

Fri 7/16

Sat 7/17

9AM

Morning
Ceremony

Optional
Taos
Pow Wow

Class
Starts

Start
Design/
Weave

Weave

Finish
Weave

Depart

3 PM Check in Ojo Caliente

All day warping

Weave

Visit private collection of prehistoric Navajo rugs

Weave

Remove weave from loom

Evening

Optional Taos PowWow

6 PM Reception

Optional Dinner in Taos at STEAKOUT

Movie
Night

Meals included

B/L/D

B/L

B/L/D

Hotel

Optional
Taos Hotel
Kachina Lodge

Ojo Caliente

DAILY SCHEDULE

Class starts Sunday morning, and ends mid afternoon on Friday. Daily hours will be from 9 AM to 4 PM, with an hour off for lunch. Sunday is spent on the all-important warping, for which Pearl supplies her own yard to ensure the proper tension. Students are divided up into pairs, together warping one loom in the morning and a second in the afternoon. This not only means each student has a properly warped loom to start work on Monday morning, but also means that the students' "hands" will retain the knowledge of how to do this important task.

Then the students are guided through the design stage. For beginning students this will be a block design, while advanced students will work with diagonals, or even a twill. The Navajo way is not to use a cartoon but rather to design right on the loom. Monday through Friday we weave. All techniques will be demonstrated first by Pearl, then done by each student under her encouraging supervision. All levels are welcome as each student is encouraged to work at his or her individual pace.

Info on the Pow Wow follows

The Taos Pueblo Pow Wow is Scheduled to take place the weekend before this workshop. We suggest that you stay the extra night to partake of this unique event. We recommend THE KACHINA LODGE for your night's stay on Friday night. Please contact them directly to make arrangements for this.
(575) 758-2275 http://kachinalodge.com/
Click see more about the Taos Pueblo Pow Wow.

Image: Black and white picture of hands weaving

About Our Instructor
Pearl Sunrise is a gentle and knowledgeable teacher whose luminous spirit inspires all who meet her. As a 3rd generation Navajo weaver, she learned her craft from her mother and grandmother. She has been the unofficial Navajo ambassador to the world for years, receiving a Fulbright to teach in New Zealand, and a commission by the U.S. State department to visit Lesotho, South Africa, and Toronto, Canada as a Cultural Specialist. She’s on the advisory board of the New Indian Museum, in Wash, D.C., and is currently a professor at the School of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe. Her work is collected worldwide.

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

CLASS SITE & ACCOMMODATIONS AT THE OJO CALIENTE MINERAL SPRINGS & SPA
(505) 583-2233   http://ojocalientesprings.com
Optional Friday night in Taos is at THE BEST WESTERN KACHINA LODGE (575) 758-2275   http://kachinalodge.com/

CLASS LOCATION

Our class will be held at the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, located in a picturesque valley approximately 1 hour SW of Taos, NM. This unique location offers a peaceful place to learn to weave while offering a soak for your bones at the end of the day, as well as miles of peaceful trails for walking by the river and visiting ancient Anasazi ruins. Ojo Caliente is a place deemed sacred by indigenous Native Americans of Northern New Mexico. The Mineral Springs have been a gathering place and a source of healing for hundreds, even thousands of years as the only hot springs in the world with a remarkable combination of four different types of mineral water: lithium, iron, soda and arsenic. The ten pools are filled with different types and combinations of waters with temperatures ranging from 80-109 degrees. Access to all five pools is included in your housing fee. Of course, there are lots of additional spa services available, such as massages, wraps, facials, etc. for an additional fee. Check it out: http://ojocalientesprings.com/
Drive Times | Driving Directions To Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa
There are 5 different pricing options for housing while you are joining the workshop, all include all meals and access to the pools:

C O S T S
There are 5 different pricing options for housing
while you are joining the workshop,
all include all meals and access to the pools.
A)) PAID DIRECTLY TO THE SCHOOL

TAOS ART SCHOOL Tuition $565 + Registration $65 = Base = $630
WHAT’S INCLUDED: 6 full days of authentic Navajo Weaving Instruction; Navajo Culture and Ceremonies, Private viewing of historic weavings in Taos, Class limited to 12 participants; Hotel set-up OJO CALIENTE MINERAL SPRINGS RESORT & SPA http://ojocalientesprings.com/

Tuition . . . . .	Base - $630	Base - $630	Base - $630	Base - $630	Base - $630
Lodging Options: . . . including meals	Camping: +$640	Double Hotel +$970	Single Hotel +$1495	Single Cottage +$1915	Double Cottage +$1215
*TOTAL*	*$1,270*/person	*$1,600*/person	*$ 2,125* /person	*$2,545* /person	*$1,845*/person

WHAT’S INCLUDED with your lodging:
7 Lodging nights at Ojo Caliente; 19 great Meals shared with Pearl Sunrise & your group; Full access to all mineral hot springs; Swimming pool; Robes & Towels; Hiking trails. Spa treatments are extra.
HISTORIC HOTEL:
Built in 1916, the “new” mission revival style adobe hotel sets the easy pace of your stay at Ojo Caliente. The hotel is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Charming rooms with either double or queen beds are available in the hotel, and half bathrooms (without showers), as all bathing has been done in the bathhouses for more than a hundred years. Showers are available between 8am and 10 pm in the spring's locker rooms. In keeping with the traditions of the mineral springs, and the nature of a healing retreat, we do not have phones in our rooms. There is a public pay phone located in front of the hotel. The hotel rooms do not have televisions. All lodging guests receive complimentary robes to use during their stay including use in the springs after check-out.
NORTH COTTAGE:
The charming eight North Cottages are newly restored with modern amenities and delightfully cozy furnishings and finishes. Six of the cottages have two queen-sized beds and two cottages have one queen-sized bed. Each cottage includes: 3/4 bath with shower - Kitchenette w/microwave & refrigerator (no stove) – Dishes - Coffee machine – TV - DVD player
CAMPING:
You may choose to camp out under the cottonwoods in a peaceful setting by the river either in a Tent or RV.
Each site includes water and an electrical hook-up. There is no sewer hook-up, but there is a drop-station.
Spa may be accessed for daily showers and mineral soaking for an addition charge of $16-$24/day
OTHER LODGING:
You do not have to stay at Ojo Caliente in order to join this class.. Taos is about an hour away and has many varieties of lodging available.
MEALS:
Our meals will be fresh, healthful and delicious. We are served family style as a group in our own dining area. Vegetarian and special meals can be accommodated with advance notice. Tax & gratuities included. Alcoholic beverages are extra. All meals are included with the exception of one Taos evening.
TAXES:
All hotel Taxes, as well as Tax & Gratuities at meal times, are included. Gratuities for your room cleaning are extra
PLEASE NOTE:
Double occupancy is dependent upon either the school or the class participant finding a roommate for you from within our class. Other wise, you will be responsible for accepting a single room, with its additional cost.

B)) PAID DIRECTLY TO THE FACULTY
SUPPLIES All materials may be purchased directly from Pearl during class. Following is a list of materials needed. Please bring a firm pillow for sitting. This for your chair, we are not on the ground. 1) NAVAJO LOOM, SMALL -- 1 week rental of simple loom, without tools: $35. - 1 week rental of warp set-up, shed stick and heddles: $40 (includes : warp, edging cords (top & bottom; 2 willow heddle sticks; top & bottom beams to attach warps; & many yards of twine for binding.	2) YARN - Warp, $20. Yarn, 4 skeins of Navajo Handspun, $8 each, $32. 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. 3) TOOLS You also may purchase hand made tools: Batten, wide, large - $18; small or narrow - $12 Heddle sticks 1/8" diameter dowels, need 2, $1 each Weaving comb - $20
C)) ADDITIONAL EXPENSES
Meals: All meals, including tips, are included except the optional ‘Night out’ Dinner at the STEAKOUT. Tuesday night in Taos, which will be an extra expense Beverages: Alcoholic beverages are not included with your meals, but can be ordered on your own Spa Services: Entrance to all the Hot Mineral Pools at the Spa is included. You will need to both schedule and pay an additional fee for the many Spa treatments offered:	Massages, Hot wraps, Mud baths, Daily Yoga, Body treatments; Facials, etc. Check out the Spa’s web site to see what you can look forward to. Transportation: You must provide your own transportation to and from the Spa, including the night out in Taos. Clothing: You may bring all of your own, but, if packing is tight, and extra baggage becomes a problem, please know that a full line of men's, women's and children's bathing suits, clothing, sandals and robes are available for purchase in the Spa Gift Shop.