Artigianati.com

Tigard resident John Beard is not as proficient at Native American dancing as he is at ravenstail weaving, a meticulous handcraft that is traditional to natives of Alaska.

In the guest room of a tidy suburban home in Tigard, John Beard practices a lost art. He’s making a ravenstail robe, a type of ceremonial cape that belongs to the history of indigenous tribes of Southeast Alaska. The weaving skills required to make the robe were perfected in the mid-1700s. By the mid-1800s, they were mostly forgotten. There are only eight complete, historic ravenstail robes in the entire world, all of them over 150 years old.

But the number of new robes is growing – slowly – thanks to dedicated practitioners who have revived the extinct craft. Beard began working on the robe he’s weaving now in March of 2007, patiently twining the wool yarn by hand, and expects to be finished some time this fall. He works on the robe almost every day, usually for about an hour in the morning, while listening to classical music.......

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