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Press Release
June 3, 2002
CHILKAT WEAVER TO DEMONSTRATE TECHNIQUE
Anna Ehlers, one of only a few known Chilkat weavers, will demonstrate her
technique to the public on Wednesday.
Ehlers of Juneau will appear in the lobby of the Sealaska Plaza on June 5 to weave a full-size traditional Chilkat blanket in the final stages of production. The blanket features ravens and a woodworm design in the shape of a sphinx. Woodworm is the clan of the Whalehouse of Klukwan in the Chilkat Valley, Ehler’s ancestral home.
Ehler’s weavings hang all over the world in museums and private collections. She began weaving in the early 1980s and apprenticed with the late Jennie Thlunaut, one of the last traditional weavers. Ehlers weaves the blankets in the traditional way – preparing the wool and cedar strips by hand, a process that takes three months. Ehlers spends up to nine months weaving a full sized blanket.
Sealaska Heritage Institute invited her to do the demonstration, as part of its ongoing effort to preserve and perpetuate Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian culture.
Ehlers will appear in the plaza from 11 a.m. to 4:30 on Wednesday. The Mt. Juneau Dancers also will perform outside the lobby at noon. PHOTO BY MICHAEL PENN/JUNEAU EMPIRE
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