Unique Experiences

Item Description

In addition to this special piece of art, the winning bidder will be able to tour Patricia Michaels studio and spend time with this award winning Taos Pueblo native and fashion designer. She will also give a 20% discount on any order you make on your visit. Patricia Michaels was recently a finalist on “Project Runway” (season 11).

This silk crepe shawl can also be worn as a sarong or scarf and measures 66” x 42”. The main image is of Avanyu, or the water serpent which symbolizes the importance of water to indigenous desert cultures. Avanyu is the storm bringer and connected with lightning, thunderstorms and the guardian of water. The Avanyu is also revered as the changer of seasons from winter to spring and the bringer of sudden and sometimes violent change. The zigzag and meandering curves of the serpent or snake are suggestive of flowing water or the zig-zag of lightning.

Patricia Michaels made this with prayers for rain as New Mexico is currently experiencing widespread severe drought.  She evokes the spring storms in the mountains where snow, rain and sometimes lightning all happen at the same time in the overall patterning of this beautiful garment.

Michaels’ career spans almost 30 years, starting with the Institute of American Indian Arts where she studied graphic design, jewelry and traditional techniques; later working in Chicago at the Field Museum and at an art gallery; and living in Milan, Italy where she apprenticed with a tailor. Michaels later brought her son and daughter with her to New York where she worked in the city’s garment district. After two years there, Michaels developed her own collection, becoming the first Native American to feature a label at the prestigious New York Fashion Week.

Now, based back home in Taos, Michaels exhibits her work in a number of museums and at fashion weeks in New York and Santa Fe. In the last two years, her innovative designs have garnered top honors at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Michaels was also featured prominently in the Town of Taos’ 2012 marketing theme which focused on the “Remarkable Women of Taos.” Her biography can be found at http://taos.org/women/profiles-businesswomen.

“My inspiration comes from the beauty of nature beauty of Taos and on my heritage at Taos Pueblo. For example, I created a pattern on silk charmeuse simply by looking at how rain falls on a window and interpreting its texture and form in my design,” Michaels said. “When the clouds are rolling in and holding rain – there’s a ‘female’ rain which has hues of lavender that seems soft, and there is a ‘male’ rain which consists of dark thunderclouds that are a combination of black and white. That’s what I love about being a Native American designer is that my designs are are abstract, not literal, because they are interpretations of nature.”

“Since I was young, I was told that when we leave our village, we represent our people so when we return home we should make them proud. I was taught by the women in my family to walk in grace and that the women from Taos Pueblo are strong but gentle – we have nothing to prove, just that we take care of our family, ourselves, and our culture,” Michaels said.

Item Special Note

The visit to Ms. Michaels Taos studio and the 20% discount on purchases must be used within one year of the close of the auction and scheduled by the winning bidder with Ms. Michaels at a mutually agreeable time.

Thanks to Lifetime Television and Project Runway for the use of images and text.

After the auction closes, items will be shipped to the winning bidder and actual shipping charges (including insurance) will be added to the total bid, unless bidder chooses pickup options listed in your winning bid confirmation at the close of the auction.