I am a native of Sacramento and until about 10 years ago had not had much contact with the wonderful artisans of the Southwest and the Navajo Nation. I had, however, always loved their pottery and fiber arts and all things of the Earth and with texture. It was about that time that I met my friend, Mel Silva, and we discovered that we shared a common love of the Native American arts and crafts. Mel's diligent research produced our first teacher, Caroline Spurgeon, http://www.c-cactusflower.com/index.htm, who at the time lived near Grass Valley. Caroline specializes in creating beautiful miniature weavings.

Soon thereafter we attended the CNCH conference in Monterey where we first came upon Ashtl'o and Sarah Natani.  We were fascinated with Sarah and her weaving and hungered to learn more.  A decision was made at that time that a trip to Sarah's was a must. I have since attended Sarah's workshop at Table Mesa on two occasions,experiences I share with everyone and will never forget.  Additionally, I have been fortunate to have attended the Valley Folk Arts program at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Colorado, and to study weaving with Angie Maloney of Tuba City, AZ. All of these opportunities greatly nurtured my weaving "career."

Presently I am an in-home child care provider in the Sacramento area. Because I am somewhat "confined" to my house with little children for eleven to twelve hours each day, I am able to find several hours almost every day in which to weave. I love weaving and never tire of researching designs and attempting to become a good weaver. I have several looms of varying sizes and rarely go anywhere without one. Additionally, Mel and I have been conducting beginning workshops for the last couple of years in an effort to introduce interested students to this beautiful art form, encouraging them to visit the Reservation and experience what we have been fortunate to absorb. We also enjoy demonstrating at our local Guild's open house and the small local fairs in the area. It is most rewarding to see the amazement on the faces of the onlookers when they realize what a great amount of time and effort goes into the creation of Navajo tapestries.

We don't often have an opportunity to get together with Ashtl'o, but we feel we are a part of the organization in some way. We are beginning to develop a cohesive group here in the Sacramento Valley area and invite anyone to join us for our get-togethers.

Never Stop Weaving!