When DY Begay sits at her loom, she doesn’t sit alone. Alongside her are the five generations of women weavers who came before her, the deities of her people, the surrounding landscapes on the Navajo Nation reservation, and the plants, animals, insects, and minerals that supply her work. “It’s my culture, and it interlocks everything I do,” says Begay. And while culture is inextricably woven into the oeuvre of this indigenous Diné artist (the preferred term for Navajo), who has been working in her native lands of Arizona and New Mexico for nearly seven decades, she’s not bound by tradition. “I use the same tools that have been used for as long as the stories have been carried but feel free to express my own creative process,” she says. The result? Stunningly modern creations that reflect centuries of shared heritage.
An earth-to-easel artist in the truest sense, Begay dyes her own wool from Churro sheep raised by her sister; walking the land to collect materials is her biggest inspiration. “What I see in the buttes, the canyon walls, the washes on arroyos—those colors are planted in my mind, and the plants can replicate those colors,” she explains.
For Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay, her upcoming retrospective at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. (on view September 20 through Summer 2025), Begay looked back through her journals, mining what influenced her most, divining that the essence of her legacy is inheritance. “I’m trailing my great-grandmothers, and it’s an honor that they have preserved this tradition,” she says. “Now I’m passing on knowledge.” And ensuring all that beauty reverberates for generations to come.
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 14 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!