Dayna began her weaving journey in the Chama Valley of northern New Mexico at the Tierra Wools Hand Weavers Workshop. She was a life long “maker” before she learned to weave. She was also a school teacher for 25 years until she retired in New Mexico and discovered that weaving was like “coming home”. It felt natural and became an obsession from the first day she laid hands on a loom. She now teaches 4 day weaving classes at the same center where she began her weaving life.

Rio Grande weaving is a traditional New Mexican craft that Dayna uses to create contemporary art in the form of wall hangings and rugs. The practice of Rio Grande weaving began over 480 years ago in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in the valleys where the headwaters of the Rio Grande River flows. The sheep that provide the wool for these weavings were brought to the Spanish colonial settlements with expeditions from Spain in the 1500’s and this was the beginning of Rio Grande rug and blanket weaving. The introduction of these sheep to the area also lead to Navajo rug weaving in the 1600’s.

Dayna weaves in harmony with this tradition as she creates each piece using a traditional Rio Grande walking loom and local, hand dyed wool. Though the process is rooted in history, her tapestries reflect southwestern colors and contemporary, often geometric designs.