Navajo Blankets are among the most recognized in the world.

The blanket is a provider of warmth, comfort and protection, in a literal and metaphorical sense. The folds of the family, like the folds of the blanket, offer these things. As a matrilineal society, the Navajo Mother, Aunt (Ama Yazhi/Little-Mother), and Grandmother (Ama Sani/Old-Mother) play a central role in the family and are the keepers of weaving.

Weaving has long sustained the Navajo. Providing an essential utilitarian item for the family, these items have also provided a source of economic stability for the Navajo.

This sculpture is based on the story of Spiderwoman, one of the Holy-People, who taught the Navajo how to weave. She is said to live atop Spider Rock in Canyon De Chelly in northern Arizona. The beauty of Canyon De Chelly is breath-taking. When you walk along the red clay floor of the canyon, you can see the sandstone walls shoot up high above you. The minerals pulled from the walls when it rains provide an ancient patina.

Gorman’s sculptural work is 4-dimensional. The patina and texture of the inner walls reflect the origins of Navajo Weaving. From inside the sculpture, Spiderwoman looks down through the canyon. As you look from outside the sculpture, a motherly figure, with her gentle face and open arms, welcomes you into the folds of the warmth, comfort and protection of the blanket. While based in Navajo tradition, this work transcends across cultures to everyone who can remember or longs for a mother’s embrace.