Native Arts in Miniature
Native Arts in Miniature explores diverse tribal traditions, family heritage, and creative innovations expressed by Native American artists working in miniature. Video interviews and written interpretation highlight artists’ voices discussing their artworks, techniques, and inspirations.
Upcoming Events
Make and Sip with Alex Kimball Williams (Bad Alaskan)
Join protest artist and writer Alex Kimball Williams/Bad Alaskan (Aleut/Unangax) for a cut-up poetry workshop on October 21, 6:30–8:30PM, including words and images from Native Arts in Miniature. Cut-up poetry is a form of found poetry, where the maker fragments and rearranges existing text to create new meaning. Participants will learn about this expressive poetry technique and others, while also considering the “cut-up” history and contemporary lives of Native people in the United States.
Art supplies, wine, and light refreshments will be provided. Admission is $39 ($30 for Museum Members). This event is 21+.
Doors open at 6PM for an opportunity to view Native Arts in Miniature before the workshop.
Listen to the music of Kimball Williams—some of which is featured in four video interviews with artists in Native Arts in Miniature—below or on Bandcamp.
Meet the Maker: Barbara and Michael Teller Ornelas
Join artists-in-residence Barbara Teller Ornelas and her son Michael Teller Ornelas (Diné/Navajo), featured artists in Native Arts in Miniature, on November 14, 2:00–3:30PM, for a conversation with curators at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures to discuss their creative practice, personal history, and artworks’ connection to their culture.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to view Native Arts in Miniature. Light refreshments will be available.
Free with Museum admission!
Makers Workshop: Miniature Weaving Design with Barbara and Michael Teller Ornelas
Join Barbara and Michael on November 14, 6:30–8:30PM, for a miniature weaving design workshop. The artists will discuss their family history and weaving traditions, including their distinctive Two Grey Hills style and the challenges in small-scale weaving. Participants will have an opportunity to create original weaving patterns in varying sizes using graph paper, colored pencils, and markers. Experimentation (and mistakes!) will be encouraged as Barbara and Michael guide conversations around how and why design choices are made throughout the workshop.
Art supplies and light refreshments will be provided. Admission is $39 ($30 for Museum Members). This event is 18+.
Doors open at 6PM for an opportunity to view Native Arts in Miniature before the workshop.
Meet the Maker: Weaving Demonstration with Barbara and Michael Teller Ornelas
Join Barbara and Michael on November 15, 1:30–3:30PM, as they demonstrate traditional Diné/Navajo weaving with a lap spindle and specialized looms. Both artists will discuss the varied weaving materials, tools, and processes while they create new artworks, during this drop-in opportunity.
Barbara Teller Ornelas and Michael Teller Ornelas, fifth and sixth generation Diné/Navajo weavers respectively, each learned to weave from the previous generation. Their award-winning rugs—full size and miniature—have been recognized at the Heard Museum’s annual Indian Fair + Market and the Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest and most prestigious art market for Native works in the world. Barbara Teller Ornelas has shared her work internationally through a residency at the British Museum in London; as an official cultural diplomat with the U.S. State Department in Peru, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan; and by authoring several books on the family’s weaving tradition with her sister.
You can learn more about the family’s weaving traditions by visiting their websites:
Navajo Rug Weavers – Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas
Past Events
Meet the Maker: Miniature Basket Weaving Workshop with Donald Johnston
Join artist-in-resident Donald Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin) for a hands-on miniature workshop on September 26, 10AM–3:30PM, exploring traditional Alaskan Native basket weaving and materials.
Learn basket making techniques and create your own miniature woven basket using leather and yarn! These materials have been selected by Johnston as substitutes for the baleen and ivory he typically uses, which come from federally protected bowhead whales and walruses. As an Alaskan Native, Johnston is permitted to hunt these animals and utilize all materials, including for food and art.
Admission is $95.
*All workshop supplies will be provided; open to ages 18+ and all skill levels; attendees are responsible for their own lunch offsite.
Meet the Maker: Donald Johnston
Join Johnston in conversation with curators at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures on September 27, 1–3:30PM, to discuss his creative practice, personal history, and artworks’ connection to his culture. Johnston will also demonstrate traditional basket making using the material of baleen, the filter-feeder system in the mouths of bowhead whales.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to view Native Arts in Miniature. Light refreshments will be available. Admission is Free.
About the Artist
Donald Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin) is an innovative baleen basket weaver, one of the few such artists working today with this challenging material from the mouths of bowhead whales. Born and raised in Alaska, Johnston’s baleen baskets of varying sizes have been recognized with top awards at major shows like the Heard Museum’s annual Indian Fair + Market and at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest and most prestigious art market for Native works in the world.
Makers Workshop: Ledger Art with Tokeya Waci U
Join artist Tokeya Waci U (Oglala Lakota / Haliwa-Sapon) to learn about how First Nations people communicated, kept records, and told stories in ways that transcended time. Contemporary Native artists use old ledger paper (usually dating to the late 1800s to early 1930s) for storytelling in a way that is similar to historic hide painting but more accessible today. Workshop participants will learn drawing techniques to make their own ledger art pieces with their family’s story and spiritual energy. Each ledger artwork will be created on the same material paper as the artist’s ancestors used.
Meet the Maker: Clay Miniature Workshop with LaDonna Victoriano
Join artist-in-resident LaDonna Victoriano (Pueblo of Acoma), featured artist in “Native Arts in Miniature,” for a three-day hands-on workshop, June 5–7, exploring clay, culture, storytelling, and small-scale making.
Meet the Maker: Conversation with the Curators and LaDonna Victoriano
Join Victoriano in conversation with curators at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures to discuss her creative practice, personal history, and artworks’ connection to her culture. Her son, Jesse Saavedra, will also share about the family practice of gathering art materials from the mountains of their reservation.
About the Artist
Victoriano is a ceramic artist inspired by, and working with, traditional elements that incorporate contemporary innovations. The pottery that she makes comes from clay that she and her family gather in the mountains of their reservation. She also uses the shards from those mountains for temper and incorporates the designs found on them into her work. Her designs and patterns are hand painted with a yucca brush using Native paints.
Image credit: Baleen Basket, 2023, Donald Johnston, Qagan Tayagungin
Advisory Group
Travis Campbell (he/him), Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/Delaware Tribe of Indians
Naalkh DeAsis (he/him), Tlinkit
Christina Haswood (she/her), Diné/Navajo
Sydney Pursel (she/her/hers), Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Image credit: Katsina Carving, c. 1980, Lawrence Namoki, Hopi (1949-2020)
This project is supported in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; Shook, Hardy & Bacon; Tepa Companies; Travois; and a generous anonymous donor.
Native Arts in Miniature explores diverse tribal traditions, family heritage, and creative innovations expressed by Native American artists working in miniature. Video interviews and written interpretation highlight artists’ voices discussing their artworks, techniques, and inspirations.
Upcoming Events
Make and Sip with Alex Kimball Williams (Bad Alaskan)
Join protest artist and writer Alex Kimball Williams/Bad Alaskan (Aleut/Unangax) for a cut-up poetry workshop on October 21, 6:30–8:30PM, including words and images from Native Arts in Miniature. Cut-up poetry is a form of found poetry, where the maker fragments and rearranges existing text to create new meaning. Participants will learn about this expressive poetry technique and others, while also considering the “cut-up” history and contemporary lives of Native people in the United States.
Art supplies, wine, and light refreshments will be provided. Admission is $39 ($30 for Museum Members). This event is 21+.
Doors open at 6PM for an opportunity to view Native Arts in Miniature before the workshop.
Listen to the music of Kimball Williams—some of which is featured in four video interviews with artists in Native Arts in Miniature—below or on Bandcamp.
Meet the Maker: Barbara and Michael Teller Ornelas
Join artists-in-residence Barbara Teller Ornelas and her son Michael Teller Ornelas (Diné/Navajo), featured artists in Native Arts in Miniature, on November 14, 2:00–3:30PM, for a conversation with curators at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures to discuss their creative practice, personal history, and artworks’ connection to their culture.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to view Native Arts in Miniature. Light refreshments will be available.
Free with Museum admission!
Makers Workshop: Miniature Weaving Design with Barbara and Michael Teller Ornelas
Join Barbara and Michael on November 14, 6:30–8:30PM, for a miniature weaving design workshop. The artists will discuss their family history and weaving traditions, including their distinctive Two Grey Hills style and the challenges in small-scale weaving. Participants will have an opportunity to create original weaving patterns in varying sizes using graph paper, colored pencils, and markers. Experimentation (and mistakes!) will be encouraged as Barbara and Michael guide conversations around how and why design choices are made throughout the workshop.
Art supplies and light refreshments will be provided. Admission is $39 ($30 for Museum Members). This event is 18+.
Doors open at 6PM for an opportunity to view Native Arts in Miniature before the workshop.
Meet the Maker: Weaving Demonstration with Barbara and Michael Teller Ornelas
Join Barbara and Michael on November 15, 1:30–3:30PM, as they demonstrate traditional Diné/Navajo weaving with a lap spindle and specialized looms. Both artists will discuss the varied weaving materials, tools, and processes while they create new artworks, during this drop-in opportunity.
Barbara Teller Ornelas and Michael Teller Ornelas, fifth and sixth generation Diné/Navajo weavers respectively, each learned to weave from the previous generation. Their award-winning rugs—full size and miniature—have been recognized at the Heard Museum’s annual Indian Fair + Market and the Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest and most prestigious art market for Native works in the world. Barbara Teller Ornelas has shared her work internationally through a residency at the British Museum in London; as an official cultural diplomat with the U.S. State Department in Peru, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan; and by authoring several books on the family’s weaving tradition with her sister.
You can learn more about the family’s weaving traditions by visiting their websites:
Navajo Rug Weavers – Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas
Past Events
Meet the Maker: Miniature Basket Weaving Workshop with Donald Johnston
Join artist-in-resident Donald Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin) for a hands-on miniature workshop on September 26, 10AM–3:30PM, exploring traditional Alaskan Native basket weaving and materials.
Learn basket making techniques and create your own miniature woven basket using leather and yarn! These materials have been selected by Johnston as substitutes for the baleen and ivory he typically uses, which come from federally protected bowhead whales and walruses. As an Alaskan Native, Johnston is permitted to hunt these animals and utilize all materials, including for food and art.
Admission is $95.
*All workshop supplies will be provided; open to ages 18+ and all skill levels; attendees are responsible for their own lunch offsite.
Meet the Maker: Donald Johnston
Join Johnston in conversation with curators at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures on September 27, 1–3:30PM, to discuss his creative practice, personal history, and artworks’ connection to his culture. Johnston will also demonstrate traditional basket making using the material of baleen, the filter-feeder system in the mouths of bowhead whales.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to view Native Arts in Miniature. Light refreshments will be available. Admission is Free.
About the Artist
Donald Johnston (Qagan Tayagungin) is an innovative baleen basket weaver, one of the few such artists working today with this challenging material from the mouths of bowhead whales. Born and raised in Alaska, Johnston’s baleen baskets of varying sizes have been recognized with top awards at major shows like the Heard Museum’s annual Indian Fair + Market and at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest and most prestigious art market for Native works in the world.
Makers Workshop: Ledger Art with Tokeya Waci U
Join artist Tokeya Waci U (Oglala Lakota / Haliwa-Sapon) to learn about how First Nations people communicated, kept records, and told stories in ways that transcended time. Contemporary Native artists use old ledger paper (usually dating to the late 1800s to early 1930s) for storytelling in a way that is similar to historic hide painting but more accessible today. Workshop participants will learn drawing techniques to make their own ledger art pieces with their family’s story and spiritual energy. Each ledger artwork will be created on the same material paper as the artist’s ancestors used.
Meet the Maker: Clay Miniature Workshop with LaDonna Victoriano
Join artist-in-resident LaDonna Victoriano (Pueblo of Acoma), featured artist in “Native Arts in Miniature,” for a three-day hands-on workshop, June 5–7, exploring clay, culture, storytelling, and small-scale making.
Meet the Maker: Conversation with the Curators and LaDonna Victoriano
Join Victoriano in conversation with curators at The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures to discuss her creative practice, personal history, and artworks’ connection to her culture. Her son, Jesse Saavedra, will also share about the family practice of gathering art materials from the mountains of their reservation.
About the Artist
Victoriano is a ceramic artist inspired by, and working with, traditional elements that incorporate contemporary innovations. The pottery that she makes comes from clay that she and her family gather in the mountains of their reservation. She also uses the shards from those mountains for temper and incorporates the designs found on them into her work. Her designs and patterns are hand painted with a yucca brush using Native paints.
Image credit: Baleen Basket, 2023, Donald Johnston, Qagan Tayagungin
Advisory Group
Travis Campbell (he/him), Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma/Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma/Delaware Tribe of Indians
Naalkh DeAsis (he/him), Tlinkit
Christina Haswood (she/her), Diné/Navajo
Sydney Pursel (she/her/hers), Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
Image credit: Katsina Carving, c. 1980, Lawrence Namoki, Hopi (1949-2020)
This project is supported in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; Shook, Hardy & Bacon; Tepa Companies; Travois; and a generous anonymous donor.
Date
- Oct 18 2026
- Ongoing...
Time
- All Day
Labels
- Exhibition,
- Featured Exhibition
Category
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