The Santa Fe Reporter from Santa Fe, New Mexico • Page 54

CO Q. 3 IT CUV) THE WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM LOCI) OF THEkv AMERICAN INDIAN August 1986 AUGUST 14 PRE-AUCTION SEMINAR At the Museum under the "big top" tent, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., cost S10. The speakers will be Marian Rodee, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, INDIAN TEXTILES; Saul Cohen, Sutin, Thayer Browne, HOW THE AUCTION WORKS; Dr. Jerry Brodie, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, INDIAN POTTERY.

AUGUST 14 "TALKING NATIVE AMERICAN FASHION SHOW At artist Armond Lara's Studio, 430 Manhattan (on Guadalupe behind Tomasita's), champagne reception immediately following, studio party at 8:30 p.m., cost $20 per person, for tickets and information call Michelle Naranjo or Rowena Dickerson at (505)982-4636. AUGUST 15 WHEELWRIGHT BENEFIT AUCTION OF QUALITY INDIAN ART At the Museum under the "big top" tent. AUCTION PREVIEW: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon; AUCTION: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; COLLECTOR'S TABLE: Offering items for direct sale; BENEFIT AUCTIONEER: Clem Streck; food and beverages available.

AUGUST 15 and 16 SPECIAL SALES EXHIBIT At the Wheelwright's CASE TRADING POST. Featuring trade beads and carved fetish neckware by choctaw carvers ROBERT AND KRISTIN KANIATOBE. Corne and meet the artists and enjoy the wonderful neck- ware. Sales exhibit on display through August 17. (10:00 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. p.m.) AUGUST 17 SPECIAL SALES EXHIBIT At the Wheelwright's CASE TRADING POST, featuring pottery by SAN ILDEFONSO PUEBLO CLAY ARTIST, BARBARA GON2ALES. Meet the artist and enjoy the splendid ebony- colored pottery. (10:00 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m.) AUGUST-DECEMBER NIZHONI: NAVAJO SILVER JEWELRY A montage of fine hand-wrought traditional Navajo Silver from the Wheelwright's distinguished collection with special focus on work by Navajo silversmiths Ambrose Roanhorse and Kenneth Begay. AUGUST 14 and 15 NAVAJO CHURRO SHEEP EXHIBIT AT THE WHEELWRIGHT In the Museum parking area, provided by Utah State University in conjunction with the Navajo Sheep Project, visitors welcome.see the Churro sheep that are considered an endangered genotype. (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian 7O4Caminolejo. PO Box 5153.

Santa Fe, New Mexico 875O2. (505)962-4636 From Buckskin to Silk (Continued from preceding page) and should be continued; we feel that this is very important. Native American design is extremely appealing." Michelle Tsosie Naranjo, the fashion show's coordinator, is also one of the designers. "Michelle is a Navajo painter who works in watercolors," according to Dickerson. "Her work has a.

lot of feminine appeal that's usually associated with fashion design. Although she has been involved with the Wheelwright Museum for some time, including serving 011 the board of trustees, this is the first such project that she has undertaken." Naranjo said that in creating the show, her objective was "to view the fashions as wearable art, especially American Indian wearable art, which doesn't get very much publicity." As one of the fashion designers, Naranjo, confesses, "This is a whole new thing for me. I only have two designs in the show, but it's something I always wanted to do. And I created these two things from my paintings. "All of the designers in the show were selected for the special quality of what they're doing," she added.

"And the models as well. Some of them might someday want to pursue careers as fashion models." A Margaret Wood design One of the designers is Joyce Begay-Foss. "She's Navajo," Dickerson said, "and among other things, she does the most fascinating Western satin shirts. They're multicolored and decorated with applique." Margaret Roach Wheeler, another designer featured in the show, has a master's degree in fiber arts. As well as designing clothes, she also teaches and gives workshops.

Most of her pieces are made from material that she weaves herself, and her designs are drawn from many of the different tribes, from the Plains Indians to the Eskimo. Her work is a vivid example of how easily the traditional Indian craft can fit into a contemporary high-fashion scene. Although many of the designs are derivative, the materials have changed. Ultrasuede, raw silk and fine Pendleton wool have replaced buckskin, beads and porcupine quills, and the results look as if they belong on the haute-couture pages of Vogue magazine. Oklahoman Margaret Wood, whose work is in the show, has created a variety of exquisite dresses and coordinates in modern materials.

Dickerson held up a beautiful blue shift with a broad collar decorated with rows of nickel-sized shell disks. "Margaret has done a number of dresses like this one," she explained. "It reflects the Plains Indian design, specifically Sioux." Although this dress was made of raw silk, Dickerson described the earlier version on which it was based. 'It would have been made of buckskin, and the collar would be trimmed with elk's teeth. If a woman had a lot of elk teeth on her dress it would mean that her husband was a good provider, and so she wore the dress with pride.

Times have changed, and now we see shell used in place of the teeth." This kind of information makes these exceptional pieces of fashion art even more special. Dickerson, who will introduce the models and provide commentary during the show, admits, "I like to include historical information whenever possible. I really enjoy this part of it, because I've learned so much." In addition to creating her designs, Wood has written a book called "Native American Fashion, Modern Adaptations of Traditional Designs." "Margaret has her master's degree in library science, and it was right down her alley to do the research and put the information together," Dickerson said. "The book describes various methods of adapting traditional Native American designs to modern apparel." Among the pieces for the show is a ruby-red silk dress with a tastefully applied black pattern that reflects the designs used by the Navajo weavers in the rugs. Other numbers have Seminole-patchwork applique to suggest quill work or bead patterns.

Another skirt is decorated with a silk-screened pattern drawn from a Papago design. Craftsmanship was the major cri- (Continued on Artists Page 66).