Chilkat/Ravenstail headdress, double-sided Ravenstail vest, and Chilkat/Ravenstail handbag woven by Clarissa Rizal – 1989

My very first Chilkat piece was a small ghost face pouch woven in a week in 1983.  A lousy weaver, I dare say that when I threw the thing against the window it just about cracked it!  Nope I never show that one to nobody!  Other than the one side of a pair of leggings that I wove with Jennie during our apprenticeship, and the Chilkat woven flap to a leather backpack, the three pieces above and the wall pouch below are my very first weavings before I wove my first Chilkat robe (Sea Grizzly 1999) and my first Ravenstail robe (Copper Woman’s robe woven in 1994).

“Father Cyril Bulashevich & St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church” Chilkat wall pocket woven by Clarissa Rizal – 1990 – private collection, Denver, Colorado

Though I have woven several small pieces not pictured here (or anywhere else for that matter), and I am a multi-tasker who has created other major pieces of art in a variety of mediums, the photos in this blog are all of my major weavings.  This blog post is to honor my children and grand-children to whom I leave my legacy and especially today to my youngest child whose birthday is today; she is the one who created this website, who created and encouraged me to blog, and who still continues to be a level-headed side-kick.

“Sea Grizzly” Chilkat robe woven by Clarissa Rizal – 1999 – private collection, Vancouver, B.C.

“The Diamonds Robe” woven by Clarissa Rizal – 1997 – private collection, Juneau, Alaska

“Hauberg Raven” Chilkat robe woven by Clarissa Rizal – 2001 – private collection – Seattle, WA

“Copper Woman” 5-piece Ravenstail and Chilkat ensemble woven by Clarissa Rizal – 2001 – Collection of Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, Alaska

“Copper Man” 6-piece Ravenstail and Chilkat ensemble woven by Clarissa Rizal – 2006 – private collection, Mercer Island, WA

“Copper Child” 4-piece Ravenstail ensemble woven by Lily Hope and Clarissa Rizal – 2009 – Collection of Sealaska Heritage Institute
 

“Jennie Weaves An Apprentice” Chilkat robe woven by Clarissa Rizal – 2011 – Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA

7-foot Ravenstail border for a button robe – 2013 – private collection, Vashon Island, WA

“Diving Whale Lovebirds” Chilkat robe woven by Clarissa Rizal – 2013 – private collection, New York, NY

Dancing of “Diving Whale Lovebirds” Chilkat robe by Clarissa Rizal – 2013

Pattern Board of “Resilience” Chilkat/Ravenstail robe designed by Clarissa Rizal – in the process of being woven; completion by June 2014 – commissioned by Portland Art Museum