Nov 12, 2014 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
Clarissa prints limited edition Giclee’s on her large format, ink jet Epson 7880; this is the first time she has enjoyed printing in the 5 years she has owned this machine! (Grand-daughter Amelie points to the photo of “Resilience” Chilkat robe)
Shrink wrapping Clarissa’s limited edition Giclee prints, to be marketed during this Winter season 2014-15
This past week has been a bit nutty — While printing limited editions of some of my work, I’ve been cutting out and sewing spinning pads, splitting bark, spinning warp, designing a log for the Northwest Coast Weavers’ Supply, making travel arrangements, etc. etc. including but not limited to, the joy of holding a newborn granddaughter and of course time out with her older sister, Amelie!
Oct 5, 2014 | Class Act, Latest Art Projects, Relationship Overdrive, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, Tools-of-the-Trade |
4-year-old Amelie Soleil Haas spins Chilkat warp on her thigh for the first time
For the past two days, Amelie has come into Grandma Rissy’s studio and has seen me splitting cedar bark, getting it all ready to begin spinning yards of warp for my next projects. Amelie tried her hand at splitting bark last week, and to my surprise she was darn good adept at it. Today, she surprised me even more when she asked if she could spin the warp, to which of course I said “sure, why not?” and I only had to show her one time and gave her all the pointers like I do my weaving students, and voile’ she was a natural ! She spun like she had been doing it all her life (only 4 years!). I don’t know if I felt so much pride in my life…! Then again, she IS my grand-daughter and I suppose that’s what Grandmas are supposed to feel like!
Clarissa is touching the large coil of cedar bark BEFORE it is split into the thin strips as shown
After I cook all the sap out of the cedar bark, I split the coils of cedar into very fine strips. Each fine strip is then spun with the wool on our thighs to create the warp (the verticle-hanging yarns on the weaving loom). It took me 26 hours to split about a pound of cedar bark; I did it in 2.5 days…(while watching a Netflix television series, of course!). Watching a movie or television series, helps me to “getterdun!”
Sep 26, 2014 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
Child-size Chilkat headband in progress — Clarissa Rizal — 2014
I have been weaving a Child-size Chilkat dance ensemble which includes a robe, apron, leggings and headdress. These two photos show the progress of the headdress above and one of a pair of leggings below…stay tuned for images of the completed ensemble this November!
The beginnings of the blue curlique in the child-size Chilkat dance leggings — Clarissa Rizal 2014
Sep 11, 2014 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
A woven Curlique using Chilkat weaving techniques — by Clarissa Rizal
I am weaving a child-size Chilkat apron as part of a 5-piece Chilkat woven ensemble which will also include a headdress, robe, and leggings. My goal is to complete the ensemble by end of October; I will have the entire ensemble shown at the Alaska-Juneau Public Market during Thanksgiving weekend at the Centennial Hall in Juneau, Alaska. Above is a semi-completed image of my first curlique using the Chilkat weaving techniques. The merino yarns were hand-dyed by a yarn company out of Homer, Alaska. Stay tuned for updates on the “Chilkat Child” ensemble.
Sep 2, 2014 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Poetry Alaskan, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
The back and front cover of Juneauite author Hannah Lindoff’s “Mary’s Wild Winter Feast” co-illustrated by Nobu Koch and Clarissa Rizal
Hot off the press, you may purchase this book at the Alaska-Juneau Public Market at Centennial Hall in Juneau during Thanksgiving weekend at my booth #P-15 in the main hall OR you can purchase directly from Hannah OR you can order a copy from a couple of sources below:
Here is the book’s page on UAF: http://www.alaska.edu/uapress/browse/detail/index.xml?id=511
Here’s the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Marys-Winter-Feast-Hannah-Lindoff/dp/1602232326/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409341461&sr=8-1&keywords=Mary%27s+Wild+Winter+Feast
You want a signed copy? Come by my booth P-15 at the Alaska-Juneau Public Market! We’ll see you there!
Aug 1, 2014 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
Pair of Chilkat armbands .22 bullet shells on fringe; will add fur trim and line with leather; hand-dyed blues and yellow — woven by Clarissa Rizal — July 2014
Like the “Resilience” Chilkat robe I just completed in June, I am finally getting around to weaving an idea I had 20+ years ago: an 8-piece Chilkat/Ravenstail ensemble called “Chilkat Hombre” which includes these armbands above, “dreadlock” headdress (like I wove over 10 years ago for my “Copper Woman” outfit), a chest sash, pair of gauntlets, codpiece and Chilkat/leather chaps! Stay tuned for more images of the other pieces; I intend to complete the entire ensemble by March 2016 !
Jun 15, 2014 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Ravens & Eagles, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
“Resilience” Chilkat robe – Clarissa Rizal – June 4, 2014 -photo by Jeff Laydon, Pagosa Photography
After 3 months of preparing the bark and wool then spinning the warp and dyeing the weft, and then 5 months of weaving the robe with at least 8 up to 12 hours per day of daily weaving time, I finished the robe on my 58th birthday, June 4, 2014! You may read the design description of the robe in an earlier blog post from last year at by clicking: http://www.clarissarizal.com/blogblog/?p=2914 (You may also find additional blog posts about the progression of this robe under the category “Latest Art Projects” in the left hand column of this blog page.)
The initial drawing of “Resilience” Chilkat robe copyright 2013 by Clarissa Rizal
Materials ready to go: Full-size pattern, basket of warp, basket of yellow, black, white weft, and basket of blue weft
Clarissa Rizal completes weaving the logos of Sealaska Corporation, Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood and prepares to weave the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s logo
The beginning of SHI’s logo (bottom center)…
Of all the parts of the robe that I was not looking forward to was the weaving of the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s logo! However, once I got it started, I had so much fun and i felt such an affection as if the “human body” was actually a real entity, a real person! — You are probably wondering why the figure is upside down…it’s because this logo is the actual “tail” of the shared body of the Eagle and Raven clan. The tails of the main figure(s) is always drawn upside down.
On May 5th, I had a bike accident causing big bruises everywhere, especially my hands. And though my hands took a long time to heal and I was in pain, I had to get the robe done by June 11th because I SAID I WOULD and there was an institution that had commissioned this from me and by golly I was gonna “getterdun!” So I swathed my hands several times daily with the famous healing skunk cabbage ointment “Skookum” made by Harlena Warford out of Hoonah, Alaska,…and I used the three fingers on each of my hands to get the job done come hell or high water! (And because I know that I AM the “hell and high water” there was nothing of which to be afraid!!)
Clarissa Rizal completes and dances her robe on her 58th birthday, June 4, 2014…!
At the Canoe Gathering in Juneau, Alaska during Sealaska Heritage Institute’s biennial “Celebration”, Carver Wayne Price is flanked by Portland Art Museum’s Curator of Native American Art, Deana Dartt-Newton and designer/weaver of the robe, Clarissa Rizal. This is my third Chilkat robe Wayne Price has worn for me.
PAM now houses the robe in their permanent collection. According to Deana, as long as she is the Curator of Native American art at P.A.M., this robe will always find its way into ceremonies and Celebrations. Thank you, Deana!
Jun 12, 2014 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Poetry Alaskan, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
An illustration by Nobu Koch and Clarissa Rizal in Hannah Lindoff’s children’s book “Mary’s Wild Winter Feast”
Juneau author Hannah Lindoff first children’s book “Mary’s Wild Winter Feast” will be hot off the press and available to the public this coming September. Illustrated by artists Nobu Koch and Clarissa Rizal, Hannah read the story during the weekend of “Celebration” at 11am on Friday, June 13th at the Juneau Public Library. Lily Hope also told one of our T’akDeinTaan clan stories of “Salmon Boy”. Sondra Simone Segundo read her book “Killer Whale Eyes” Photos follow:
With the help of her daughter, Hannah reads her first children’s book “Mary’s Wild Winter Feast” to a full room at the Juneau Public Library, Juneau, Alaska.
I was brought to tears when Lily Hope told our T’akDeinTaan Clan story “Salmon Boy” – if you have the chance to ever hear her tell this story, drop everything, attend and listen…!
Ketchikan Tlingit writer, Sondra Simone Segundo reads her very first children’s book “Killer Whale Eyes”
Thank you to all the parents and children who came out this morning to attend this storytelling event! Thank you to the co-sponsors Juneau Public Libraries and the Sealaska Heritage Insititue. Gunalcheesh!
May 9, 2014 | Latest Art Projects, Ravens & Eagles, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Clarissa Rizal finishes weaving the ANB (Alaska Native Brotherhood) and ANS (Alaska Native Sisterhood) logos.
Weaving an average of 9 hours per day for the past 5 months, Clarissa must deliver this robe to Portland Art Museum staff members in Juneau during SHI’s biennial “Celebration” this mid-June.
Clarissa begins weaving the (SHI) Sealaska Heritage Institute’s logo (bottom center)
Read about Clarissa’s design description of this robe is in a previous blog entry: http://www.clarissarizal.com/blogblog/?p=2914
Clarissa’s progression of the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s logo in the “tail” of the overall design of the robe.
May 2, 2014 | Latest Art Projects, North Tide, Ravens & Eagles, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Ursala;s Graduation cap
Our family has “style.” We are very much into creating our own style of dress, decor, language, etc. My parents were both very stylish and so are my kids. So when Ursala said she wanted to paint her graduation cap to wear during the Ft. Lewis College ceremony, how could I be surprised?
Clarissa Rizal quickly sketches the design for her daughter’s graduation cap
