Barbara Teller Ornelas Explained
| Barbara Teller Ornelas |
| Birth Date: | November 26, 1954 |
| Nationality: | Navajo Nation, American |
| Alma Mater: | Arizona State University |
| Occupation: | Textile artist |
| Parents: | Sam Teller and Ruth Teller |
| Children: | Sierra Teller Ornelas, Michael Teller Ornelas |
Barbara Teller Ornelas (born November 26, 1954)[1] is a Native American weaver and citizen of the Navajo Nation.[2] She also is an instructor and author about this art. She has served overseas as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department. A fifth-generation Navajo weaver, she exhibits her fine art textiles and educates about Navajo culture at home and abroad.
Background
Ornelas is Tabaaha clan (Edgewater) and born for To-heedliinii clan (Two Water Flows Together).[3] She grew up near Two Grey Hills Trading Post in New Mexico,[4] before later moving to Arizona. Learning from her mother, grandmothers, and older sister, she is a fifth-generation Navajo weaver.[3] [5]
Art process
She weaves tapestries with sheep wool from local flocks raised by Navajo families. She weaves textiles with high weft-counts, including some that are from 102 to 140 wefts.
Art exhibitions
Her work has been featured at the Heard Museum, Arizona State Museum, Denver Art Museum, the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian, and the British Museum of Mankind in London,[1] among other museums.
Documentary
Her daughter Sierra Teller Ornelas was commissioned by the Arizona State Museum to make a documentary film, A Loom with a View: Modern Navajo Weavers, which explores the weaving of her family members, including Barbara herself, Barbara’s son Michael Teller Ornelas, and Sierra’s great aunt Margaret Yazzie.[6] [7]
Awards
Cultural ambassador
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) Thrums Books [10] [11]
- How To Weave a Navajo Rug and Other Lessons from Spider Woman (2020), Thrums Books [12]
Personal life
Her adult children Sierra Teller Ornelas and Michael Teller Ornelas are sixth-generation Navajo weavers.[13] [14]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Barbara Teller Ornelas: Master Navajo Weaver . Navajo Rug Weavers . 16 August 2021.
- Web site: Craft in America – Barbara Teller Ornelas on weaving . PBS . 16 August 2021.
- News: Woven Through the Generations: Tapestry Artist Navajo Barbara Teller-Ornelas . Ict News . Allen . Lee . 13 September 2018 . 17 August 2021.
- Web site: The Soul and Song of Weaving: Barbara Teller Ornelas . Border Lore – Heritage & culture of the U.S. Southwest and Northern Mexico . 16 August 2021.
- Web site: Barbara Teller Ornelas . Craft In America . 16 August 2021.
- News: Weaving is part of woman's soul . 9 April 2020 . Arizona Daily Star . 13 December 2006 . en.
- Book: Schmitt . Rory O'Neill . Navajo and Hopi Art in Arizona: Continuing Traditions . 2016 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-1-62585-560-2 . 9 April 2020 . en.
- Web site: Barbara Teller Ornelas – Navajo – USA . Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto . 18 August 2021.
- Web site: Lynda Teller Pete – Weaving legacy ... . Textile Society of America . 16 August 2021.
- News: Navajo master weavers Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete talk shop . Ict News . 1 March 2019 . 16 August 2021 . Allen . Lee.
- Web site: 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 (Flagstaff & Winslow, Arizona) . 18 June 2019 . Locke . Katherine . 16 August 2021.
- Web site: Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas are the premiere Navajo Tapestry Weavers. . Navajo Rug Weavers . 16 August 2021.
- Web site: Barbara Ornelas . Art In Embassies – U.S. State Department . 16 August 2021.
- Book: Schmitt . Rory O'Neill . Navajo and Hopi Art in Arizona: Continuing Traditions . 2016 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-1-62585-560-2 . 9 April 2020 . en.
