Bounxou Chanthraphone 7601 Colorado Avenue North Brooklyn Park MN 55443 (763) 561-3972 (612) 721-0122 Work Samples Images (select to enlarge):

Bounxou Chanthraphone Lao weaving Lao weaving arts have three levels. Each level has many techniques of learning and teaching. As a Lao weaving demonstrator and teacher, I share my work with others, prepare young women to carry on this tradition, support elder folk artists who continue this art form, and teach everybody who wants to learn. I create dresses and other objects by using traditional patterns, as well as weave a number of my own patterns. I use silk, cotton, nylon, wool, and metallic gold and silver threads to weave ceremonial and everyday clothing and other useful items, using a loom and techniques learned in Laos. I demonstrate the Lao loom and explain the meaning of the traditional and original designs. Recognition I have received includes the 2000 National Heritage Fellowship, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts. Available: Almost any time; please give at least three weeks advance notice Space: A well-lit, 7 by 10 ft. area with one table Fee: Negotiable

Additional Information:
Bounxou Chathraphone is a master of Lao weaving arts. In her presentations, she demonstrates the Lao loom, shows examples of a variety of ornate traditional textiles, and explains the meanings behind the designs.

Lao weaving is traditionally used to create both everyday and fancy ceremonial styles of clothing and hangings. Lao weavers use loom frames of many sizes, depending on the piece, but each loom incorporates bamboo reeds to hold the threads in places. Bounxou uses cotton, silk, wool, and metallic threads to create her beautiful work.

As a child in the city of Savannakhet, in central Laos, Bounxou learned to weave from her mother and grandmother. Her mother taught her an ikat style, in which the warp threads are bound and dyed in order to produce special designs. These designs frequently incorporate images of animals, people, and plants. Bounxou's grandmother taught her the other major technique of Lao weaving. In this brocade style, designs are produced by decorative threads that are selectively taken up and over the warp threads in the course of weaving. This results in precise patterns across the surface of the cloth. After Bounxou became an elementary school teacher, she continued to weave, and she frequently worked with local elders and textile masters to improve her technique. Eventually, she mastered not only the Central Laotian style, but regional forms from the Northern and Southern parts of the country as well.

In the 1970s, as Laos was torn apart by war, Bounxou and her family fled to Thailand. During this time, she was able to support her family by doing weaving in the Ubon Refugee Camp. She also taught weaving to other Lao women. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1982, she continued to weave at home, while teaching others through the Lao Parents and Teachers Association in Minneapolis. In recent years, she has had several apprentices, and she has given numerous demonstrations at art fairs, schools, and festivals.

Bounxou Chanthraphone was recognized as a master weaver and awarded a National Heritage Fellowship for the year 2000 by the National Endowment for the Arts. As part of her fellowship, she has designed a new pattern, and she is currently creating three large pieces based on Lao, Thai, and Cambodian styles. Bounxou enjoys demonstrating her work and taking to weavers and other interested people about her weaving styles.

Bounxou Chanthraphone was recognized as a master and awarded a National Heritage Fellowship for the year 2000 by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2001, she was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Fellowship. As part of her fellowship, she had designed a new pattern and created three unique pieces through continuous and discontinuous supplementary techniques of Lao weaving. Bounxou enjoys demonstrating her work and taking to weavers and other interested people about her weaving styles.