Heard Museum

I suggested to my mom that it might be fun to make a trip to the Heard Museum in Phoenix. (It is focused on displaying indigenous art work.) It has been years (decades?) since I had been there last and I guessed that there would be some interesting textiles to look at. We serendipitously visiting when they had a huge exhibit of Dinē (Navajo) rugs. They were gorgeous and I was a bit overwhelmed by the fact that the majority of them were woven from hand spun and often hand dyed wool. I know first hand the amount of labor it takes just to get to the weaving stage. The skill and artistry were truly amazing. I'll share a few of the many photos I took in a moment.

First I want to say what a fantastic museum this is. First, it's beautiful; it's just a lovely and peaceful place to spend time. All the docents we interacted with extremely nice and informative. I was particularly pleased to learn how to pronounce tye name of churro sheep. (The sheep whose wool is used for the rugs.) I've always pronounced it how it looks, but it's actually 'shar-row'. Knowing things like this makes me happy. Finally the museum was completely accessible. It had both elevators and wheelchair lifts to navigate the various levels and the spaces were wide and navigable. If you are visiting the Phoenix are or live there and haven't visited in a long time, I urge you to go. There's even a large, free parking lot. 

Some pictures:





We didn't only look at textiles.


This is a close-up of the rug above it. Look how intricate this is. It's a twill structure that I can weave in my floor loom, but I have absolutely no idea how it was managed on the loom and with the weaving technique was used. I find it mind blowing.



The colors are all glass.

There is also a museum store where artists can sell their artwork. It is as much of a museum as the actual museum. What made me ridiculously excited were these very small coasters and baskets. They are woven out of horsehair and the designs were incredibly detailed and tiny. (I would have bought one but could not afford even a small one.) I think I need to learn this type of basket weaving so I can figure out how to do it in horse hair. 


Here is an example of how welcoming and accessible the museum is. This was a sign in the restroom. The only thing I think they could add would be an adult changing table. 


Visit if you can!

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