Nov 12, 2013 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
“Resilience” Chilkat robe with Christian symbol and filler U-shapes
When you catch the “weaver’s bug”, all you wanna do is weave, weave, weave. We can get so obsessive about weaving that we will tend to neglect the rest of our life and all the things that need tending (i.e. family, relationships, body, house, other business, etc.). My teacher, the late Jennie Thlunaut brought this challenge to my attention. She did not explain what would happen to me when I caught the “weaver’s bug”, she explained things like this: “…you be good to your husband…!” or “…take time out to eat and sleep!” or “…be good to your kids!”
Yep, that’s all I wanna do is weave. Alas….sigh….there are other things I love just as much!
Thank you Jennie, for taking me under your wings to teach me more than just weaving! You changed my life in many more ways than just being a weaver!
This Chilkat “Resilience” robe is a “document” depicting icons of Western influences that changed our Northwest Coast indigenous peoples during the past 300+ years; this design includes Native logos reflecting cultural integration and strength.
The Icons and their meanings:
• ships – Russians, Spanish and English explorers/traders
• double doors flanked by columns – museums, collectors, anthropologists
• pair of hands holding the gold pan – mining, western monetary system
• Christian symbol – Christianity, missionaries, organized religions, boarding schools
The Logos and meanings:
• Eagle and Raven represents the clan system-the fundamental foundation of the culture; also represents the Tlingit and Haida Central Council (logo) established in 1935
• Within each wing, logos of the ANB (Alaska Native Brotherhood) established 101 years ago in 1912 and the ANS (Alaska Native Sisterhood) were first indigenous civil rights groups in the U.S. – these two organizations gave “flight” for indigenous rights
• Within the chest of the Eagle and Raven, the Sealaska Corporation logo, 1 of 13 Regional Native Corporations of Alaska spawned from the passing of the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971 – these organizations reflect the “heart” of the present-day cultures’ integrating western ways of living and conducting western business while maintaining cultural values and ethics
• Tail – the new “rudders”; the new institutions created to assist in archiving, preserving and perpetuating the Native cultures of today; depicted is the Sealaska Heritage Institute (logo) established in 1980.
I am using Ravenstail techniques on the left and right sides of the robe. I’ll also weave Ravenstail here and there in the central design field of the robe. It’s fun to incorporate the Ravenstail weaving patterns into the Chilkat robes.
Oct 30, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Close-up of “Where We Going” painting – acrylic with a touch of gold paint on curved wooden frame
Last night I finished the painting for the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s fundraiser coming up in February 2014. For information on SHI and their fundraiser, click here to link to their website.
Both paintings will be sold as a set – they each measure 10″ x 10″ – acrylic on curved wooden frame
To show the curve of the wooden frame, I took this shot although it makes one frame look larger than the other…but, like I said, they are the same size!
Oct 29, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
Adding another layer of paint…!
Last week I finally began painting a pair of small curved canvas paintings, a donation for Sealaska Heritage Institute’s fundraiser art auction in February 2014. For the past 10+ years, I’ve been painting on curved canvasses; it’s fun! Kinda different. And it’s inspirational for me to continue to do more (in between other projects, of course!)
Oct 27, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
The right corner of the Chilkat robe – the top border of yellow is completed – 26 hours later…! So far so good, I am on track…!
26 hours to complete the yellow border and the 5 strands of braids at the bottom of the border – those hours are in between the hours of this particular Fall, winterizing the house/studio, nor coordinating the Weavers’ Gathering demonstration at the Clan Conference, nor babysitting grand-children, nor painting a donation piece, nor spinning warp for a Chilkat/Ravenstail pouch for another donation, nor cleaning and organizing the studio for another round of intense work until June, nor the daily routine of eating, sleeping, and taking care of my body.
I am far from lazy, from from being bored, far from being a “kept woman” and far from taking a vacation any time soon! All I do though, I LOVE to do; I have a lot of love in my life – all the things I do I love, all the things I be, I love. I realize I spend most of my day “in love.” There isn’t much time in the day spent on things I do not love. I’ve been this way a long time. Even though I may not act like it sometimes, I give thanks every morning no matter what my mood, and I give thanks every night as I put my “home” to bed. It’s been my unspoken way of appreciation and gratitude.
Nobody needs to know any of this though I share it here with you, the reader. Why? Because some day some time long past me posting this blog entry, I may read this again years later, because in a way this blog is like my work diary. I used to keep track of all my work via hard-copy photographs placed in a plastic sleeve with pages of notes on the current project at hand…I’ve got shelves of my work all categorized in big 3-ring binders on shelves I had built to take the weight of it all. Now my recordings have gone virtual with the blog site. I may read this entry years later and it is a reminder of who I have been, where I was at, and I get to compare it with who I am on that future date!
My work lives in the future. My system, my entire way of thinking is mainly in the future. So this blog serves as a vehicle to contain the present-day work and adventures for eventual past reflection. When I am real old and I look upon my past, I intend to enjoy myself and others all over again!
Oct 22, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Completed the black top border of the robe – 41 hours later!
Here’s a close-up photo of the black top border of my Chilkat “Resilience” robe that I am weaving for the Portland Art Museum…notice the subtle texture of the weave. I weave over three warp ends instead of two when weaving the black and yellow borders of a Chilkat robe. I learned this from my teacher/mentor Jennie Thlunaut, last of the traditional Chilkat weavers who passed away in 1986. She suggested that I use size 3/6 weft yarns (equivalent to 3-ply commercial yarns) and weave over three warp ends – ONLY IN THE BORDERS! These techniques create a subtle texture and a larger “frame” for the design field of the robe.
I will be posting more updates while weaving this robe over the next few months; stay tuned and thanks for visiting!
Oct 2, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tools-of-the-Trade |
Building the frame for the “totem pole”
That time right before I wake up is a sensitive time; it’s when things come to me, ideas, concepts, meaningful dreams, etc. That’s how this idea came to me; this idea of a kind of “totem pole…” That was a little over 10 years ago…still making them…!
Stretching the canvas over the curved masonite towards the backside with the seam stapled down the back’s center bar
No nails are used; all pieces are held together with screws. The canvas is stapled to the back center bar. Below are two versions of the totems. One is acrylic on canvas; the other is charcoal on canvas. I have proposed to create a version of these for the Mendenhall Valley Library in Juneau, Alaska. We’ll see if my proposal is accepted.
Charcoal on canvas “Argillite Totem Pole”
Acrylic on canvas – a painted version of the Charcoal on Canvas above
Sep 18, 2013 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
the first of several illustrations for a children’s book by Hannah Lindoff
Alaskan-born writer, Hannah Lindoff is writing a children’s book about a child’s experiences in putting up foods for winter from Southeast Alaska’s sea and land. Another artist formerly born and raised in Juneau, Nobu Koch and myself are collaborating on the illustrations. Above is an example of our combined efforts.
Under the influence of my friend, the infamous collage-artist/painter, Cecil Touchon, I began making collage about 12 years ago in 2001. He encouraged me to take the Northwest Coast form line art and “play” with it. I copied his technique, using similar materials and added the form line elements. Such fun!
I am currently working on the last few collages for the book. By the first weekend in October, I will then scan and email them off to Hannah for approval before she then emails them off to Nobu to complete image. I am working on these collages in my studio in Colorado, Hannah writes in Juneau, Nobu is living and working in Seattle; how cool is technology that the three of us, who live miles apart, can collaborate on a project together like this?
Sep 13, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Ravens & Eagles, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
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
Aug 26, 2013 | Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
A Chilkat face: when we finish the eyebrows, the weaving can “express” how it feels…
Besides the clan emblem or the story a Chilkat robe image has to convey, I experience the emotional/spiritual aspect of the robe itself. Every robe I’ve woven gifts me with a different experience that transcends just the technical aspects of weaving.
Two years ago I finished the “Jennie Weaves and Apprentice” Chilkat robe. During the four years the robe was on my loom, the weaving of this robe “held me up” and “saved my life” during a very rough length of time; I was actually able to weather some big “storms.” This year I completed the “Diving Whale Lovebirds” Chilkat robe; after nearly 30 years of weaving, I finally felt like I actually KNEW what I was doing. I didn’t really have to think about weaving (and as some of you know how to weave, this type of weaving requires a lot of thinking!). My total time on the robe was 6 months! I remember Jennie saying that she could weave a full-size, full-design Chilkat robe in 6 months and that was hard for me to believe. Over the years, I have come to believe many of the things she said. She gave me many gifts.
A Chilkat Face: When we finish the eyes, the robe can see into our world…
This child-size Chilkat robe that I am presently weaving is my robe of gratitude; a time of giving thanks for this gift of learning Chilkat and sharing Chilkat, a time of appreciation for all the folks who, especially during this weavers’ tour and especially the past 5 years of my life, have been there in whatever time and shape. I hold this robe with affection as if it is a grandchild; very close as as I know the very thing that provides me the happiness also has the other side of the coin, and some day it shall “fly away” and not be in the same position I had become accustomed to know. This Chilkat robe is my time of experimentation, a time of expanding into things I have not normally done, whether it be reflected in the weaving, reflected in a thought pattern or behavior. I look forward to my internal world expanding, ever eternal as we all are…
Stay tuned to see the progress of this robe. Thank you for making the time to be a part of my life via visiting my blog! Gunal’cheesh!
A Chilkat Face: when we complete the nose, the weaving can smell everything about you and your world – and when the mouth is completed the weaving can communicate with you…
A Chilkat Face: …and when Clarissa starts re-drawing her Chilkat robe design, uh oh, watch out…she might take another 10 years before she is happy with the image…!
Jul 28, 2013 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
The Mt. Fairweather Dancers from Hoonah, Alaska prepare to do their performance in honor of Huna Totem Corporation’s 40th year while shareholder members gather together at the fire pit along the board walk that leads one way to the Cannery Site and the other way to the Resturaunt
Huna Totem Corporation had sent out an RFP to their shareholder artists requesting a design in whatever medium the artist chose to represent their vision statement for the future: “…sailing the canoe of our ancestor’s into the future…” My design of a button robe was commissioned. Click here to the blog entry of the design.
(Note: In this blog entry you won’t be seeing any photographs of other activities during the 40th celebration because I didn’t attend any others due to a time constraint – I was only at the celebration for not quite an hour.)
After the first “coming in” dance, the Mt. Fairweather Dancers turn their backs against the audience to show each dancer’s clan emblem
During that same weekend of July 26, 27 and 28 was in Teslin, Yukon for the weekend demonstrating Chilkat weaving with several of my apprentices during their biennial “Kus Te Yea Celebration 2013”. (click here to read the blog entry on the Celebration event.) Huna Totem implored me to come down to Hoonah on the day of their event, Saturday the 27th, to do the presentation of the robe and explain the design; they wanted me to do this in person so I was plugged into the agenda at 1:30pm. Even though I really didn’t want to leave my students and to leave the Teslin Celebration for a day, I agreed to go to Hoonah (especially since Huna Totem has been good to me, I will do the same for them!)
Young children, Fran Franolovich, Lillian Hillman and Marlene Johnson enjoying the youth of the Mt. Fairweather Dancers
I don’t know what other events happened during the day at Huna’s 40th celebration because I really didn’t have time to partake in the events, so I cannot give you any other information other than tell you about my spectacular drive from Teslin to Skagway and the return flight from Hoonah to Skagway via Juneau and Haines. (Click here to see the blog entry on the return flight from Hoonah to Skagway.)
Huna Totem Board Members and M.C. Kenny Grant are invited to dance with the Mt. Fairweather Dancers
The drive from Teslin to Skagway was 3 hours; absolutely one of the most beautiful drives in the world! (I kept in mind that Yukon time is one hour ahead of Alaska time.) I caught the plane from Skagway to Juneau at 11:45am; it was a 45 minute flight to Juneau; then caught the 12:45pm 20-minute flight to Hoonah arriving a little bit after 1pm and by the time I arrived at the Cannery Point, it was about 1:45 and luckily the program was running a little late, I had just enough time to eat a bag of chips, briefly say hello to Kogo Hugo and meet her mother from Japan, and say hello to Florence Sheakley and check out her beaded earrings, and then it was time to do the presentation. After explaining the design (click here for blog entry on the robe design and explanation), I had about 10 minutes to enjoy the rest of the Mt. Fairweather Dancers’ performance and then I was whisked away and caught the outbound flight to Juneau at 3:30 with board members of the Huna Totem; we arrived in Juneau by 4:00. I had an hour to hang out at the consignment shop “Alaska Dames” before catching the 5:30 flight to Skagway via Haines. The pilot said he just had to take a few extra minutes and do a flight like that since the weather was so perfectly beautiful!
The flight from Juneau to Haines was phenomenal (click here to see the blog entry on that fabulous flight); the pilot took us on a scenic flight of the local glaciers in the Juneau area: the Mendenhall, Peterson and Eagle; he flew over Berner’s Bay, then across Lynn Canal up towards the mouth of the Chilkat River just south of Haines – then we flew UP the Davidson Glacier, flew around the back side of the front range of the Chilkats and then DOWN Rainbow Glacier, passed Paradise Cover (where I once had land), over Pyramid Island and then landed at the Haines airport – Holy what a flight!!!
When we flew up Davidson I cried I was so happy I unbuckled my seat belt and looked out both sides of the plane’s window; I just love this land, I love the Chilkat range, I love the Chilkat river; I so be-long here! I swear that when I die, I want my ashes spread up and down these Chilkat glaciers and at the mouth of the Chilkat River and at Paradise Cove!
By the time I arrived in Skagway, it was 7pm (that’s 8pm Yukon time). I could have spent the night in Skagway, but I just wanted to make the drive back to Teslin and wake up to another day of demonstrating in our little “weavers’ cabin” on Teslin Lake for the last day of Teslin’s “Kus Te Yea.” I got detained at the Yukon Alaska border because I got into a half-hour conversation with the border guard about politics, art, cultural integration, etc. It was already 9:30 by the time I left the border and I was getting tired. I had to pull over a couple of times to rest; I was avoiding falling asleep at the wheel. The weather was beautiful the entire day; the night was just as astounding. At this time of year, the sky does not get totally dark, so there are no stars to see, though the natural evening midnight sun light was gorgeous; everything looked “rosie.” I passed 3 cars during the entire drive from Skagway to Teslin, arriving at midnight. And there were never any cars behind me. I suppose I was the only car heading North from Skagway for those particular hours. It was eerie. I don’t think I will do that drive by myself again!
Mentor and Dance Instructor Billy Wilson rests while he watches his “children” do the songs and dances
This particular Raven Dancer knows how to strut!
The pride and unity of the Mt. Fairweather Dancers!
During my brief visit to this event in Hoonah, I looked about me at all the folks who came out to help celebrate Huna Totem’s 40th year – everyone looked so familiar even though many of the people I did not recognize. I looked about and realized that the elders that I was used to seeing were no longer; I realized that the folks who were just 10 to 20 years older than me were really not that much older than me! whoa! I am becoming one of those elders! Holy moly!
After spending an entire month with the in-land Tlingit in Yukon where there is no ocean, no ocean smell, not as much moisture in the air, I truly felt like I fit in with those people, yet, coming down to Hoonah even for an hour, I felt a true kinship with the land here too, of course with its people – my clan the T’akDeinTaan are originally from here – we were branched down from the Coho from the Alsek River in the Yakutat area – I have to remember that I am a “coastal Native” (as the in-land Tlingit define us).
M.C. Kenny Grant reads the real copy of Clarissa’s latest brochure. He was going to read from a xerox copy of the brochure that someone handed to him so he could introduce Clarissa properly when she presents the button robe she was commissioned to create in honor of Huna Totem’s 40th year; when Clarissa saw that his was a copy and not the real thing, she presented him with his own very real brochure! Kenny’s immediate response: “Hey,…this is MUCH BETTER! Now I can actually READ it!”
I would post a photo of myself presenting the Button robe that I recently completed for Huna Totem’s 40th, but I didn’t take a photo of me explaining the design to the celebration audience. I will post one as soon as someone emails or texts me a photo image of it! In the meantime, click here to see the design and creation of the button robe BEFORE delivering the completed robe to Huna Totem.
Gunal’cheesh Hoho! Thank you very much for visiting my blog and reading this entry!
