[7][1] She later studied fiber arts at Arizona State University where she received her teacher's certificate.
[6] Begay's artwork is influenced by her Navajo identity, the forms of nature and the colors of the landscape, flora and fauna.
[5] In a video produced by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, she describes how she makes dyes from plant matter and soils, and thinks of the weaving process as analogous to "painting with yarn".
[9] Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay,[4] a featured exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., is on display September 20, 2024 – July 13, 2025.
This exhibit is accompanied by a robust catalog that is also the first book devoted to her career and includes tapestries created between 1965 and 2022.
[12] In 2013, Begay received a Native American Art Studies Association Lifetime Achievement Award.