Irvin Trujillo: National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow 2007

Sandy Voss

After learning to weave in 1967 in norther California, I moved to a small Arizona town in 1970. The only weaver within 50 miles made rag rugs. So I learned from her. All the relatives received as many rugs as they could use. I was definitely hooked on making rugs but had to find something to do with them, so in 1980 I started selling rugs. In 1982 I started teaching occasional students at my home studio.

After several years of doing arts and crafts fairs we moved to New Mexico in 1987. I started showing my work in galleries. In 1993 we moved to our present home in Espanola, NM. I started teaching the rag rug class at Northern New Mexico Community College in 1994 and became president of the Art Through the Loom weavers guild in 1996. Currently I still teach classes, am a member of 3 New Mexico weaving guilds, curate a yearly one-month weaving show at Galeria Arriba in Abiquiu, and coordinate two guild weaving shows at the Museum of Anthropology at the Ghost Ranch conference Center in Abiquiu.

Along the way I began to make more items from rags including rugs in many sizes, bath mats, pillows, table runners, placemats, mug rugs, and occasional wall hangings. totes, purses and evening bags are the newest addition with collaborator and friend Jennifer East.

It is satisfying and exhilarating to take discarded fabrics and make useful and pleasing items from them. In the past htese discards have included wool and cotton clothing, neckties, socks, nylons and pantyhose, sheets, bedspreads, curtains and drapes, t-shirts and sweaters. Factory remnants and discards are also used and help increase the variety of textures and colors available.