Barbara Teller Ornelas
Barbara Teller Ornelas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 26, 1954 |
| Nationality |  United States, Navajo |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University[1] |
| Occupation | Textile artist |
| Children | Sierra Teller Ornelas, Michael Teller Ornelas[2] |
| Parent(s) | Sam Teller, Ruth Teller[2] |
Barbara Teller Ornelas (born November 26, 1954)[2] is a master Navajo weaver,[3] instructor, and author. She is also a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department. She exhibits her fine art textiles and traditions at home and abroad.
Ancestry
Ornelas is from the Tabaaha and To-heedliinii Clans (Edgwater Clan and The Water Flows Together Clan).[4] She grew up at Two Grey Hills Trading Post in New Mexico,[5] before later moving to Arizona. She is a fifth-generation Navajo weaver.[6]
Art process
Her tapestries begin with sheep wool from Navajo family-raised sheep. She makes high weft-count weaves including some that are from 102 to 140 wefts.[7]
Art exhibitions
Her work has been featured at the Heard Museum, Arizona State Museum, Denver Art Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian Institute, and the British Museum of Mankind in London[2] among other museums.
Awards
She has won numerous art awards including:
- The Conrad House Award[2]
- Best of Show (2 times) at the Santa Fe Indian Market[8]
Distinctions
Ornelas has traveled extensively as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department.[9] She has been a part of cultural programs in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Peru.[8]
Books
She co-authored the following books with her sister Lynda Teller Pete:
- Spider Woman's Children: Navajo Weavers Today (2018)[1][10]
- How To Weave a Navajo Rug and Other Lessons from Spider Woman (2020)[11]
Personal life
Her children are sixth-generation Navajo weavers.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Allen, Lee (1 March 2019). "Navajo master weavers Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete talk shop". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Craft in America - Barbara Teller Ornelas on weaving". PBS. 16 August 2021.
- ^ Allen, Lee (13 September 2018). "Woven Through the Generations: Tapestry Artist Navajo Barbara Teller-Ornelas". Indian Country Today - Digital. Indigenous. News. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "The Soul and Song of Weaving: Barbara Teller Ornelas". Border Lore - Heritage & culture of the U.S. Southwest and Northen Mexico. 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Barbara Teller Ornelas". Craft In America. 16 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Barbara Ornelas". Art In Embassies - U.S. State Department. 16 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Barbara Teller Ornelas - Navajo - USA". Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto. 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Lynda Teller Pete - Weaving legacy . . " (PDF). Textile Society of America. 16 August 2021.
- ^ Locke, Katherine (18 June 2019). "Navajo Weavers Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas give readers something they've never had — a look at Navajo weaving told by Navajo weavers themselves". Navajo-Hopi Observer - Proudly Serving the Navajo & Hopi Nations, Flagstaff & Winslow, Arizona. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas are the premiere Navajo Tapestry Weavers". Navajo Rug Weavers. Retrieved 16 August 2021.