This class is as much about Culture as it is about Weaving. Pearl Sunrise is a luminous person whose gentle presence will encourage you while her extensive knowledge of these techniques helps your hands to know what to do.

Each morning starts with a Drumming ceremony & Stories. In this way we become centered and ready to weave. Pearl is a great Storyteller ! and we will hear about Spider Woman and her gift to the Diné People

We'll meet on Saturday and then class starts on Sunday so we have a full day to focus on the all important warping. Monday morning we start weaving. Pearl demonstrates a technique which the students then try on their own under her encouraging supervision. All levels are welcome, as each participant works at their own pace.

SPECIAL FEATURES!

Because this is an experience as much about Culture as it is about Art-making, we have additional immersion opportunities for you throughout the week.

Taos Pueblo Corn Dance

Body Nurturing Opportunities (Yoga, Meditation, Massage, Swimming!)

View 2 hard-to-find Movies about Pearl and her weaving

See a private collection of historic Diné tapestries

Music & Drumming

TAOS PUEBLO CORN DANCE

The Taos Mountain looms above the piled adobe structures that compose Taos Pueblo, the oldest continually inhabited Puebloan village, a vibrant community for over one thousand years. Still today there is no running water, no electricity, no internet, one of the reasons for which is their commitment to preserving their native culture. Stories and traditions are passed through generations orally, often by elders.

The Taos Pueblo Corn Dance is a sacred ceremony that honors the Corn Mothers. It takes place in a ceremonial kiva, which is a space deep underground, before coming above ground for public viewing. Because the Tewa people have a living tradition each dance is unique although a general pattern is followed -- one that has ancient origins. The point of these dances is to pray for rain, help the corn and other crops grow through dancing prayer, and to keep the Earth and her people in balance.

The dance features:

• Dancers: Wearing white leather boots, long colorful dresses, stone and shell jewelry, Indian paintbrushes, and white gourds filled with tiny stones
• Elders: Sitting on stools and beating on drums
• Dance: Dancers snake past each other, low-frequency chants, beads of sweat rolling from the hairlines, and dust blowing into their eyes