Join us on Thursday, September 28th to learn more about the rich history of Navajo Weaving from Master Weavers, Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas. Two Grey Hills Tapestry Weaver Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas are Tabaaha (Water Edge Clan) and born for the To’aheedliinii (Two Waters Flow Together Clan). Lynda and Barbara were raised along with their siblings at the Two Grey Hills Trading Post. Barbara and Lynda draw on their family and clan connections to offer insight into the world of Navajo rugs. Join us for this special event with two world renowned Diné artists and learn how their creative practice is preserving their cultural craft for future generations.

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Barbara Teller Ornelas (Diné) is a fifth-generation master Navajo weaver and culture bearer who sold her first rug when she was only 10 years old. Her father Sam Teller (1918–2000) was a Diné (Navajo) trader for 32 years and her mother, Ruth Teller (1928–2014), was a weaver, gardener, quilter, and photographer. When Ornelas was 10, her paternal grandmother dreamt that her granddaughter would become a great weaver who shared their traditions around the world. Fifty-six years later, Ornelas has not only honed her artistry as a Two Grey Hills weaver but shared it with audiences all over the world in the form of workshops, lectures, and exhibitions. In 2023, Barbara was awarded the United States Artists Fellowship in Traditional Arts.

Lynda Teller Pete (Diné) is an award-winning fifth-generation weaver who is best known for using a traditional Two Grey Hills regional style. The belief that beauty and harmony should be woven into every rug was instilled in her from the age of six, when Pete was officially introduced to weaving. Along with her weaving, she collaborates with art centers, guilds, museums, universities, and other venues to educate the public about Diné (Navajo) history and the preservation of Navajo weaving traditions. Together with her sister Barbara Teller Ornelas, she wrote Spider Woman’s Children: Navajo Weavers Today (2018), the first book written about Diné weavers by Diné weavers since the time of Spanish and colonial contacts, as well as How to Weave a Navajo Rug and Other Lessons from Spider Woman (2020). Pete is the Director of Equity and Inclusion at the Textile Society of America and a 2022-2023 Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow.