Annette Fourbears: Weaving The Dream

I am a dream weaver. I take what I see in nature, in fellow humans and in my dreams and I weave it into my art. To my way of thinking, art is a sacred process. It is one way we are like the Creator: we create. 

I am Delaware, Shawnee, Cherokee and European. Teachers from other tribes have given me the right to weave in the style of their people. I am considered a master weaver in the Paiute style of peyote beading over a pine needle basket. 

In the Delaware Indian language, Lenape, the name of the Creator is Kishelemukong - literally “The One Who Created Everything from Thinking.” As a sort of ancient practice of visualization, we are taught to be mindful of our thoughts as Kishelemukong will hear them and bring into reality what we are thinking. 

With that in mind, my elders taught me that as I weave, I must hold good thoughts. If I become angry or upset, I must put down my work and come back to it when I have regained “balance.” As I weave I often pray that whoever will eventually own my work will love it as much as I have loved making it. Sometimes people pick up my work and say that “it just feels good.” I believe that such people are sensitive to the dreams and prayers of healing, peace and abundance woven into each piece. 

I hope that you enjoy the work I share with you. When we have a chance, I will invite you to pick up a basket and feel it, smell it, turn it over and look at the bottom. They are not fragile and are meant to be a joy to all the senses.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.