An Interview with Martha Smith: Weaver of the Twin Towers Rug

 Written by Don Grieser for Ellis Tanner

(Original interview was published in Ellis Tanner Super Card 2012 Merchant Guide)

Everyone who has seen the United We Stand Skyline rug asks her how she did it because it is so realistic. Martha says you can do that when you've been a weaver for 40 years.

 

Martha Smith is Navajo Indian born in Ganado, Arizona, in 1945. She now lives in Sanders, Arizona. She attended a Catholic school during elementary and junior high and graduated from Sanders Valley High School. She has made her living as a weaver since 1970. 

Martha's mother began teaching her to weave when she was 8 years old. She did weavings every now and then until she began weaving full time when she was 25 years old. Martha mainly weaves in the Burntwater style, a style developed by one of her aunts around 1970. 

Before the Burntwater style, the weaving done by Navajo weavers like Martha's mother were more simple in design. The Burntwater weaving style contains more intricate and complicated designs and patterns inside a geometric border. The weavers in Martha's family all began weaving Burntwater patterns, which is a contemporary weaving design. Martha also weaves the Wide Ruins pattern, the Ganado Red Pattern, and sometimes does a Chief Blanket when someone orders one. She also does double twill saddle blankets.

"I've always enjoyed weaving from the day I started learning from my mom. I wanted to stay home and raise my children myself and that's what I did," Martha said. "I put my boys through college and they are all engineers." All of Martha's children are boys and her grandchildren are all young so she is not teaching anyone to weave at this time.

Martha weaves every day. She tried to put in an 8-hour day just like she would at a regular job, but if she needs the money, she will put in some 12-hour days.

 

"It is the hardest rug I've ever done,"

 

Martha says the best part of weaving happens right toward the end of the rug, when it's almost finished. She also looks forward to selling the rug when it's finished.

"Right when you're starting is no fun because you have to think about all of the designs you are going to use," said Martha. "Once you get to the halfway point, it gets easier because you copy the patterns that you've already done."

The United We Stand Skyline rug is the first pictorial rug Martha has woven. "It is the hardest rug I've ever done," Martha said. Martha is very excited about her rug going to be displayed in New York.

When it went up for sale at the auction, we didn't know it we would ever get to see this rug again. It's good Mr. Tanner bought it and it's going to stay in Gallup.

 

"Everyone got attached to this rug. When it went up for sale at the auction, we didn't know it we would ever get to see this rug again. It's good Mr. Tanner bought it and it's going to stay in Gallup.

"The only reason I did the rug is because I support education. I donated a lot of my time to help the children of the victims," Martha stated. "When I heard it was going to go for their education, I thought I'd do it."

Everyone who has seen the United We Stand Skyline rug asks her how she did it because it is so realistic. Martha says you can do that when you've been a weaver for 40 years.

"It is tough to weave the rug, to rebuild the Twin Towers, because there was a lot of death involved in those buildings. I'm a superstitious person so it took a lot of discipline with my mind to weave it. There's a lot of bodies that are still missing. It was very tough," Martha said. Besides dealing with the emotion of the September 11th tragedy, Martha also had to deal with traditional Navajo taboos regarding death while she was weaving this rug.

Martha talked about what it means to her to be an artist. "I think all artists get attached to their art. That's all you think about every day. When you look, you look for designs. What am I going to use next in my artwork? You're imagining things, and that's what artwork is about. You see things, it goes into your mind, and when you get home, you try to put it in your rug to make it look pretty."

Martha has won many awards for her rugs at the Navajo Tribal Fair, New Mexico State Fair, and the Gallup Inter Tribal Indian Ceremonial.

"The weaving market is very slow these days. I used to sell all my rugs inn Sedona, Arizona. Before I started a rug, it would already be sold, but not anymore," said Martha. "You have to be very well known in your weaving before you can sell your rugs today."

Martha had already established her reputation as a weaver before she wove the United We Stand Skyline rug. With her first pictorial rug Martha Smith demonstrates that she is indeed a master weaver.