Kalley Keams Lucero
Navajo Weaving
Kalley (Caroline) Keams Lucero was born for the T dichinii (Bitter Water
People—her maternal clan) and born for Tbaah (Edge of Water
People—her paternal clan) in Tuba City, Arizona, in 1953. Like many weavers, Kalley learned to weave from her mother, Carol Yazzie Keams, at the age of five and sold her first rug by the age of seven.
Stories from her grandmother and parents molded her ideas, but by the age of twelve she put weaving aside for other interests. By her mid-twenties, bearing the responsibility for a young family of her own, Kalley returned to weaving. It was a touchstone to her past and her future. A renewed thirst for knowledge about her people and weaving and encouragement from many people "made me realize I had a responsibility to learn from others and share my knowledge with others." That knowledge has been passed on to her daughter Jennifer (25), two younger sisters, and a niece. She guides technique but leaves design and color strictly up to each weaver as a personal choice.
Kalley, who is a nurturing woman, mother to Lee and Jennifer, and wife to Mark Lucero, acknowledges her rugs "reflect her changing moods and environments." If she is in a new place, does not feel well, or has reason to celebrate good fortune, these "patterns of life" are reflected in her work through design and color. Kalley has a good sense of her identity as both a Navajo and an artist. She is also clear about her approach to weaving, combining traditional ideas with a progressive outlook. She is ambitious and often has four works in progress simultaneously. She struggles with stereotypes assigned to weavers and challenges writers and others who would perpetuate untruths about assigning sacred aspects of Navajo worldview and "power" to rugs. "This does not exist in our weavings," she protests. "The bil is the only woven garment that has clear significance to women. It is worn during their kin'aald (initiation ceremony)."
Firm, yet soft-spoken, she has strong opinions about her work and why it is important to acknowledge Navajo traditions. She is a teacher and has conducted advanced workshops at museums in Arizona, California, Maine, New Mexico, New York, and Washington, D.C. What is most clear in her approach to weaving is that Kalley wants to "keep learning all aspects of Navajo weaving through contact with other Navajo weavers, scholars, collectors, museum collections, and other resources I can find. I'm certain what I learn can be passed on to the younger generations within the Navajo tribe and other nations."
Her work has taken her beyond the United States and she has demonstrated her weaving talents for museums, galleries, and art festivals in Japan, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and Australia. She was a major contributor to and advisor for the exhibition,
"Woven by the Grandmothers," sponsored by the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Images: (Top) Portrait by
Mark Nohl
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