Friday, January 31, 2014

Susan Hudson the Navajo "Ledger Quilter"

         I met Susan Hudson during this past Indian Art Market at the Museum of the American Indian in New York City.  I was a volunteer assigned to registration and payment collection for the preview party.  I needed a little caffeine before the event so I went into the room where all of the artists had been eating.  There I met Susan, she had been finishing up and getting ready to leave. Susan was super friendly and I'm pretty chatty myself so we instantly started talking.  I asked her what medium she worked in?  She said she was the Ledger Quilter.  Ledger Quilter?  I had just been writing a paper about ledger book drawings of the Plains Indians so I was very familiar with the drawings, but quilts?

      Later when I had a moment I went in to look at the different arts and crafts for sale.  I promptly went over to Susan's table in the back of the gallery for an explanation of her craft.  I asked her why ledger quilting?  She said that she is Navajo and knows that the ledger drawings were of the Plains but she had to get creative in the competitive world of native arts.  Hudson came up with the clever idea to combine motifs common in ledger art with her own creative ideas.  Her ledger quilts are two-fold; one they are a dedication to the art of the Plains, two, they are a remembrance of her own ancestors, many of whom perished during The Long Walk.  Their names are listed down the length of the quilt.       

        Below are a couple pictures of Susan and myself with her award winning quilt Stars Among Shunkaa Wakan which translates to holy dogs.  "Holy dogs" is a term that refers to horses.  


Indian Art Market 
December 2013, NYC

Stars Among the Shunkaa Wakan
Shunkaa Wakan means "holy dogs," and refers to horses

Examples of Ledger Book Drawings of the Plains Indians

Julian Scott (Kiowa), Ledger Artist
"Kiowa Couples," 1880
Collection Mr. and Mrs. Charles Diker

"Cheyenne warrior engaging enemies," by Black Horse (Northern Cheyenne)
 The Black Horse Ledger, 1879-1885
“Alternative Accounts” Exhibition UC San Diego


Susan Hudson and her ledger quilts

Indian Country
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/07/12/navajo-quilt-maker-susan-hudson-pays-tribute-plains-ledger-art-122698

Cowboys & Indians
http://www.cowboysindians.com/Cowboys-Indians/June-2012/Best-Of-The-West-2012-Suzanne-Hudsons-Ledger-Quilt/


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