Diné (Navajo) culture is centered on wool, the landscape, and the concept of Hózhó (balance). Within Diné (Navajo) culture, there is a symmetry that exists within fours; four sacred mountains, four cardinal directions, four sacred colors and the Na'ashjéii Asdzáá (Spiderwoman) motif with four points. The importance of Kinetáh (land) relies on a grid to weave a sacred intersection of threads that connects Dinétah (Navajo people) through Naalyéhé (materials) and Dį́į́ʼ(four). My own work centers on this concept by essentializing certain aspects of Navajo weaving traditions and translating it through handmade paper, beadwork, and weaving.
Na'ashjéii Asdzáá (Spiderwoman) is the sacred origin of forms and symbols that exist within the process of working materials. The symmetrical designs of my work are physical representations of Hózhó (balance). This is a reminder to the way our mind and Níłch’i (spirit) weave a connection to the land that the Naalyéhé (materials) emerge from.
The essence of Na'ashjéii Asdzáá (Spiderwoman) exists within each piece as it focuses on abstracting Dį́į́ʼ(four) and reinterpreting the physical representation of weaving itself. For the Dinétah (Navajo people) there is a special relationship to the land and the natural materials that it provides. My work takes the importance of natural materials by mimicking the tones, vegetation, animal hides, and stones found within the land. It is through materials that a visual language is expressed through the calm resonance of Hózhó Nahasdlii (living within balance).
