SAR Artist Talk & Studio Tour with Kevin Aspaas

Native Artist Talk & Studio Tour with Kevin Aspaas
SAR’s 2024 Ronald and Susan Dubin Native Artist Fellow

Kevin Aspaas (he/him) is a Navajo textile and fiber artist. Known for his work with the Navajo wedge weave technique, Aspaas practices a process he calls “sheep to loom.” This process entails gathering and spinning wool from the small flock of Navajo-Churro sheep he raises in Shiprock, New Mexico. In addition to spinning his own yarn, Aspass works exclusively with natural dyes noting that, “…producing textiles in the manner that ancestors have done, honors not only relatives from the past, but also the land and animals.”

While in residence at SAR, Aspaas has continued to experiment with the Navajo wedge weave technique. An innovative technique originally developed by Diné weavers in the late 19th century, the Navajo wedge weave technique fell out of favor among Native weavers shortly after its conception and is rarely seen in contemporary Navajo weaving today. Aspaas hopes to combine the wedge weave technique with the two-face twill technique to produce a textile that will be the first of its kind in Navajo textiles. Of his proposed project Aspaas says, “As a young weaver, this is my contribution to our collective Navajo weaving history in hopes that it will encourage the generation after myself to do the same.”