Melissa Cody facts for kids

Melissa Cody, born in 1983, is a talented Navajo artist. She creates amazing textile art, which means she makes art using woven fabrics. Melissa is from No Water Mesa, Arizona, in the United States. Her special weaving style is called Germantown Revival. It's famous for its bright colors and cool patterns that look like they pop out in 3D!

Melissa Cody uses traditional Navajo weaving methods. But she also adds her own unique touches. These can be personal tributes or even references to pop culture. People describe her tapestries as "deeply personal, beautifully crafted, powerfully expressive works of art." They say her art speaks to her culture and her generation. Today, Melissa lives in Long Beach, California.

Early Life and Learning

Melissa Cody was born in 1983 in No Water Mesa, Arizona. She is a member of the Diné, also known as the Navajo Nation. She grew up on a Navajo Reservation in Leupp, Arizona. Sometimes she also lived in Southern California and Texas.

Melissa started weaving when she was only 5 years old! She is a fourth-generation textile artist. This means her family has been weaving for many generations. She watched her mother, Lola Cody, and her grandmother, Martha Gorman Schultz, work on the loom. They encouraged her to try new things with her weaving.

Germantown Revival Style

Melissa Cody mostly uses the Germantown Revival style of weaving. This is a traditional Navajo style. It was created during a difficult time for the Navajo people, known as the Long Walk of the Navajo. During this time, weavers used wool from blankets given to them by the government.

This style is known for its "vibrant hues," which means very bright colors. It also features diamond patterns, geometric shapes, and overlapping lines. Melissa weaves on a traditional Navajo loom. Her father builds all of her looms. She uses Germantown style wool yarn. Melissa is known for mixing traditional Germantown styles with modern ideas in her tapestries. Her artworks often include Navajo symbols and personal stories. They also have references to pop culture. Her tapestries are famous for looking like they have a 3D effect.

Education and Internships

In 2007, Melissa Cody graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts. This school is in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She earned a degree in studio arts and museum studies. After college, Melissa worked as an intern. She interned at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. She also interned at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Amazing Artworks

Melissa Cody has created many beautiful and meaningful artworks. Here are a few examples:

Dopamine Regression – 2010

This textile piece is 70 by 48 inches. Melissa used very bright wool colors. These colors make the artwork look like it has a 3D effect. Melissa created this piece to honor her father. He has Parkinson's disease. The black crosses in the artwork show her deep sadness about his condition. The red cross at the top represents the medical red cross. It also refers to Spider Woman, a Navajo goddess. Spider Woman is known for her strength and for teaching weaving. This tapestry combines Navajo symbols with personal feelings.

Deep Brain Stimulation – 2011

Deep Brain Stimulation is part of the collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It uses the Germantown Revival style. It has bright, "eye-dazzling designs." This piece is 40 by 30 inches. Melissa used intensely colored wool to create rainbow-like patterns. There are black and white crosses throughout the piece. These crosses symbolize the Navajo goddess, Spider Woman, again. The title of the artwork honors her father. It refers to a special treatment for Parkinson's disease called neural treatment.

World Traveler – 2014

World Traveler (2014) at the National Gallery of Art in 2023

World Traveler is a large wool textile piece, 90 by 48 inches. It was shown at the Garth Greenman gallery. It was also part of the Stark Museum of Art's Navajo Weaving: Tradition and Trade exhibit. Like other Germantown Revival pieces, this artwork creates an "illusion of movement." World Traveler has a panel with sixteen half-circles. These circles are decorated with a checkerboard pattern. This creates a "psychedelic effect," which means it looks very colorful and almost dream-like.

Art Exhibitions

Melissa Cody's art has been shown in many places.

Solo Exhibitions

• Webbed Skies: Melissa Cody, MoMA PS1, Queens, New York (2024)
• Future Tradition: Melissa Cody, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, Texas (2017)

Group Exhibitions

• Àbadakone | Continuous Fire | Feu continuel, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (2020)
• Threads of Rain, de Young Museum, San Francisco, California (2019)
• NDN NOW, Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona (2019)
• Heritage, Rebecca Camacho Presents, San Francisco, California (2019)
• Nine 4 Ninety: Artists for a New Understanding, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona (2019)
• Self, Made, Exploratorium, San Francisco, California (2019)
• Color Riot! How Color Changed Navajo Textiles, Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona (2019)
• Interwoven, MASS Gallery, Austin, Texas (2019)
• Casa Tomada, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico (2018)
• Footprints Forward: Navajo Contemporary Artists Post-1868, Navajo Nation Museum, Window Rock, Arizona (2018)
• Edgewater Reflections, University of New Mexico Ingham Chapman Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico (2018)
• Connective Tissue: New Approaches To Fiber In Contemporary Native Art, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico (2017)
• Navajo Weaving: Tradition and Trade, Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas (2014)
• Messengers 2012, Rainmaker Gallery, Bristol, England (2012)
• A Turning Point: Navajo Weaving In The Late 20th Century, Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona (2010)
• Family Ties: Youth Navajo Weavers, Heard Museum West, Phoenix, Arizona (2007)

Art Collections

Melissa Cody's artwork is kept in important art collections, including:

• Minneapolis Institute of Art
• Stark Museum of Art

Awards and Recognition

Melissa Cody has won many awards for her amazing textile art:

• Judges Award (Textiles), Heard Museum Fair and Market (2017)
• Native American Art Magazine Award, Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (2017)
• Best of Show Award, Autry National Center (2014)
• 2nd Place (Textiles), Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Heard Museum (2013)
• Judge's Choice Award, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Heard Museum (2011)
• Conrad House Award, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Heard Museum (2010)
• Judge's Choice Award, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, Heard Museum (2010)
• 1st Place (Textiles), Student Division, Santa Fe Indian Market (1998)
• 2nd Place (Fiber arts), Heard Museum Guild Native American Student Arts and Crafts Show, Heard Museum (1997)
• 2nd; 3rd Place (Textiles), Student Division, Santa Fe Indian Market (1996)
• 1st Place (Textiles), Youth Division, Santa Fe Indian Market (1995)
• 1st Place; Bob Davis Memorial Award (Textiles), Youth Division, Santa Fe Indian Market (1994)
• 1st; 3rd Place (Textiles), Santa Fe Indian Market (1993)
• 1st Ribbon (Textiles), Santa Fe Indian Market (1992)

See Also

• Art of the American Southwest
• Long Walk of the Navajo
• Navajo Nation
• Navajo weaving