Gloria Jean Begay made her first rug around age 10 when her mother, an accomplished Navajo weaver in Ganado, set up a loom and told her it was time to learn. "Before that we had a handheld portable play loom, and I would play with her tools and yarn," says Begay, a Chandler resident who works as an accounting supervisor.

Begay's pastel-toned rugs and blankets, woven in her spare time away from the office, command prices up to $6,000 from customers who seek her out via word of mouth. She will show her creations at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market, celebrating its 50th anniversary.

"This is no carnival or street festival," says fair chairwoman Barbara Johnson. "It's an experience of complete immersion in native cultures."

The event has grown to become the second-largest American Indian art fair in the country, behind only the Santa Fe Indian Market in New Mexico. More than 650 artists from tribes across the nation will sell their work during the event. Artists are admitted only after their work passes the scrutiny of three judges. A request to join the show is a nod to an artist's talent and skill.

"It's a big deal to receive an invitation because the fair has a reputation around the world for high-quality work," says Johnson. "People in Europe plan their U.S. vacations around it."

Once in, artists face another juried competition for first and second place in their division. A win there puts them in the running for the coveted best-in-show prize.

Serious collectors swoop in early to pick clean the collections of the most sought-after artists, but Johnson says the fair is geared toward young families and newcomers, too.

"The artists love explaining the different symbols and processes, especially to youngsters," she says. "And for people who are just beginning to start their art collections, there are newer artists who keep their prices low."

Live entertainment and a courtyard featuring about 25 demonstrator artists working in mediums from beads to sand-painting are another draw. There is also plenty of native and Mexican food.

The fair will be Begay's first opportunity to step into the public commercial sphere as a bona fide textile artist.

"I've resisted calling myself an artist because I feel like that's something you shouldn't do until you've really accomplished something," she says. "My mother and grandmother have woven all their lives. They're the masters, in my mind."

Navajo rugs are made with handwoven wool textiles that originated as utilitarian items, such as saddle blankets or clothing. They are created on a vertical wood- or metal-frame loom that requires the weaver to sit or kneel, using a shuttle to weave colored threads together. The skill is passed down through multiple generations and is seen as an important carrier of Navajo cultural values.

Begay, whose muted color palette and incorporation of glass beads and stones set her rugs apart from more traditional specimens, is on vacation from work in a mad race to prepare for the fair. It's a different dynamic from playing at her mother's loom years ago. Back then, Begay says, weaving was a tedious chore.

"With age, I have come to see it as art," she says. "And I'm starting to think, 'Wow, I can do this!' "

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© Copyright 2008, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.