Teri Rofkar
Teri Rofkar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Chas' Koowu Tla'a September 27, 1956 |
| Died | December 2, 2016 (aged 60) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Weaving |
| Spouse | Denny Rofkar |
| Awards | Governor’s Award for Native Art in Alaska (2004) National Heritage Fellowship (2009) Creative Capital Visual Arts Award (2012) Distinguished Artist Award from the Rasmuson Foundation (2013) |
Teri Rofkar, or Chas' Koowu Tla'a, was a Tlingit weaver and educator from Sitka, Alaska. She specialized in Ravenstail designs and spruce root baskets.
Rofkar was born on the 27th of September, 1956[1] in San Rafael, California and grew up in Pelican and Anchorage, Alaska.[2] In 1976 she moved to Sitka, Alaska, the town her grandmother was born in,[3] raising three children with her husband Denny Rofkar.[4] She died on the 2nd of December, 2016, at age 60.[2]
Rofkar learned weaving from her grandmother Eliza Monk, as well as Delores Churchill (Haida), Ernestine Hanlon-Abel (Tlingit) and Cheryl Samuel.[2] She began her professional career as a weaver in 1986.[5] She wove the first Tlingit robe made completely from mountain goat wool in more than two hundred years, but also worked with contemporary materials and technology.[1][5]
In 2004, Rofkar won the Governor’s Award for Native Art in Alaska.[6] She was selected for a USA Rasmuson Fellowship from United States Artists in 2006.[7] Rofkar was a recipient of a 2009 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.[8] In 2013, she received the Distinguished Artist Award from the Rasmuson Foundation[6] and a Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Artist Fellowship.
References
- ^ a b "Teri Rofkar". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Sitka, Alaska, United States. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Boots, Michelle Theriault (5 December 2016). "Renowned Tlingit weaver Teri Rofkar dies at 60". Alaska Dispatch News. Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ Apathy, Erika (16 December 2016). "Rofkar on Native culture and 'invisibility', 28 April 2014". KCAW. Sitka, Alaska, United States. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ Bradley, Peter (8 August 2016). "What We Talk About When We Talk About Climate Change". Artists and Climate Change. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ a b Martin, Mary Catharine (6 October 2015). "A Day in the Life of: Chas' Koowu Tla'a Teri Rofkar". Juneau Empire. Juneau, Alaska, United States. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Teri Rofkar". Rasmuson Foundation. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
- ^ "Teri Rofkar". United States Artists. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
- ^ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2009". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
External links
Teri Rofkar - Alaskan Native Artist and Basket Weaver
Teri Rofkar, Rasmuson Foundation Distinguished Artist 2013 (video)