If you build it, they will come.

[haha_on_me]

After a few years sitting idle, long thoughts and deliberations, I decided to open this Thread back up and continue the journey.

What you will find here is a cornucopia of things, things I make, things I see, and possibly, just possibly i will read some of my writings. Don't expect things of a sexual nature, though I may post a photo or two that might be considered such. The majority of my work would be considered safe for work.

Sit back, grab a rocking chair on the porch (you may find fungatorgrl there), relax and enjoy the journey with me. I work in many mediums, so I hope there may be something for everyone here.

Enjoy.

 

[haha_on_me]

This first one is a stone that I found in the Little Pigeon Creek in Tennessee. The stone is sewn into a deerskin pouch that is beaded with glass seed beads in the Lazy Squaw technique. The necklace portion is braided, and the twisted fringe randomly has glass Crow Beads placed throughout. In Native American life special stones, stones from special places were considered to have power and were desired to be kept near.

 

[haha_on_me]

These photos are of a leather briefcase I tooled.

 

[haha_on_me]

This photo shows a bookmark I drew of a Peace Pipe, and the actual Peace Pipe itself. The pipe was sitting on a shelf and one of my cats knocked it off and broke it. .....yes, the cat still lives. hahaha.

The pipe is handcarved soapstone.

 

[haha_on_me]

This is a Dreamcatcher I made using a deer antler I found in Colorado at the location of the "I Do" fire. The fire burnt 10,000 acres. The webbing is actual deer sinew...none of that fake stuff for me. The feather is that of a hawk, and there's one tiny blue glass seed beed.

 

[haha_on_me]

These are my drawings. These are all done in the stippling style.

They were a part of a series I was planning, titled Genesis. The first drawing is In The Beginning.

To note, there are only dots in these drawings, no straight lines.

 

[haha_on_me]

This unfinished work is a fan. The glass seed beads are done in the Peyote style of beading. The Peyote style criss-crosses the beads enabling it a fuller appearance. When finished, the beading will expand to the top where owl feathers will be inserted. At the tail, eight inch long twisted deerskin fringe will dangle. The fan is made of wood covered in deerskin.

 

[haha_on_me]

This is a Ghost Dance shirt for a child. I made this for my oldest son when he was around seven or so.
The seams are double stitched by hand, and are looped back into themselves for durabilty and looks. The material is muslin. Muslin was commonly used as a material for Ghost Dance shirts because it was inexpensive, and by the 1890s, animal skins were getting scarce. This shirt is painted with symbols found on authentic shirts, and has horse hair dangles at the neck.

 

[haha_on_me]

At the last minute, I decided that I should enter a project in the County Fair's Open Class for adults. I saw that Stenciling was a class, and thought.....hum, I can surely stencil. I painted this frame canvas half white and half black. I cut out a stencil in the shape of the bison you see, and a stencil of a small dust cloud. You see the results.
The idea for this is rather prophetic in nature. The White Bison is sacred. The title for this piece is Hetchetu Aloh, which is Lakota Sioux for "It is so."

 

[haha_on_me]

This titled "Apocolyptic Structure" It is life as I see it, rather chaotic, scary yet whimsical.

 

[haha_on_me]

Here are earrings I made from deer bone. They are handcarved, sanded and painted to look like tiny eagle feathers.

 

[haha_on_me]

This is a Peace Pipe bowl I carved from Catlinite (Pipestone). It is carved in the shape of an eagle's head.

The braclet was beaded on a loom with glass seed beads. The design is a traditional Blackfeet "Four Directions" design. Once loomed, it was attached to leather, and a thong of leather and ribbon with a brass bead keeps it tight around the wrist.

 

[haha_on_me]

Since that was the last thing I had on my computer, I'll end here. If I find anything else, I'll add it....or when I make something, I'll add it.

 

[delpdJune]

AWESOME!!! {{{haha}}} Can't decide on a favorite.... maybe the shirt you made for your son... I know with my own works... each piece holds/has a special meaning and place in my heart...

The stonework.. wow!! incredible amount of time that is going into that... Promise never to pick on you .. for not being online again lmao!!!

Thank you so much for sharing!!

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

Impressive work in a very wide range of media. I was really struck by your genesis pictures, and the thought of hands holding the world in different ways, different concepts of how the divine interacts with the mundane.

Well done.

 

[cloudy]

At the last minute, I decided that I should enter a project in the County Fair's Open Class for adults. I saw that Stenciling was a class, and thought.....hum, I can surely stencil. I painted this frame canvas half white and half black. I cut out a stencil in the shape of the bison you see, and a stencil of a small dust cloud. You see the results.
The idea for this is rather prophetic in nature. The White Bison is sacred. The title for this piece is Hetchetu Aloh, which is Lakota Sioux for "It is so."

I really like this.

(I'm going to show my heritage now ) Do you belong to a nation? I'm Choctaw, and my SO is Ojibway. We currently live on an Ojibway reserve. Which clan do you belong to?

you know how it goes...we have to figure out if we're related so that the parameters for conversation can be set.

 

[haha_on_me]

AWESOME!!! {{{haha}}} Can't decide on a favorite.... maybe the shirt you made for your son... I know with my own works... each piece holds/has a special meaning and place in my heart...

The stonework.. wow!! incredible amount of time that is going into that... Promise never to pick on you .. for not being online again lmao!!!

Thank you so much for sharing!!

So, I have a good excuse now? Finally. hahahaha.
Those pictures are from a project that will be finished this year......I think. I started back working on it yesterday since the weather was so nice. This will be the third year I've been on this project because they keep wanting more things done. It works out good for me.

Yeah, I think the things we make really should have meaning to us, or the person in which it is intended. I cannot understand "factory-type" artists that just pump out so much work it means nothing to them. Art is spiritual to me.

 

[haha_on_me]

Impressive work in a very wide range of media. I was really struck by your genesis pictures, and the thought of hands holding the world in different ways, different concepts of how the divine interacts with the mundane.

Well done.

Thank you for your comment. My original intent was to somehow draw the days of creation. Yes, divine interacts with the mundane. Nice choice of wording.

 

[haha_on_me]

I really like this.

(I'm going to show my heritage now ) Do you belong to a nation? I'm Choctaw, and my SO is Ojibway. We currently live on an Ojibway reserve. Which clan do you belong to?

you know how it goes...we have to figure out if we're related so that the parameters for conversation can be set.

Thank you. I'm always thrilled when a person of "original heritage" enjoys my works. It means quite alot to me.
Show your heritage! Yes, by all means.
Unfortunately, if I were to show the larger portion of my heritage, you'd see shamrocks and bagpipes. I've always been told (like most of us have) that we have a small portion of Cherokee or Shawnee blood. I've yet to track it down.....but I feel it none-the-less. My wife is Cherokee/Irish. Though small in blood, it is a huge part of my life, and has been for a very long time. As I stated earlier in a post, art is a spiritual thing for me, and it's even more so when working in the traditional crafts of the People. I brain-tan my own deer hide, and use only real sinew.
You should also look at ManyFeathers' work. He is of the Blue Sky People.

I hope you visit here often.



I haven't heard Leonard's name spoken in quite some time. I read the book "In The Spirit Of Crazy Horse" back in the 90's, and learned of Leonard's plight. The movie "ThunderHeart" sort of brought it to light to the general public.

 

[cloudy]

Thank you. I'm always thrilled when a person of "original heritage" enjoys my works. It means quite alot to me.
Show your heritage! Yes, by all means.
Unfortunately, if I were to show the larger portion of my heritage, you'd see shamrocks and bagpipes. I've always been told (like most of us have) that we have a small portion of Cherokee or Shawnee blood. I've yet to track it down.....but I feel it none-the-less. My wife is Cherokee/Irish. Though small in blood, it is a huge part of my life, and has been for a very long time. As I stated earlier in a post, art is a spiritual thing for me, and it's even more so when working in the traditional crafts of the People. I brain-tan my own deer hide, and use only real sinew.
You should also look at ManyFeathers' work. He is of the Blue Sky People.

I hope you visit here often.

Oh, he and I are good friends, going back several years. He's Shoshone, and we've compared notes on language, since both his and mine are Aztec-derived vs. Algonquin-derived that I hear every day.

I'm belong to the Deer Clan...the fast runners. My great-grandmother was on the trail of tears, and somehow survived it, even though she was just a small girl.

An older lady here on the rez in Ontario taught me how to make porcupine quill baskets. It was quite an honor for her to teach me, since the art is normally passed down from mother to daughter only. We have quite a few artisans living there, in fact, my SO is an artist - a painter. He was recently named Artist in Residence for the local museum. Living on the reservation is an experience - I wasn't raised on the reserve, so it's been very new to me, but very comforting to be surrounded by those like me.

I've read the book, too, and have passed it on to others who might be interested in what really happened. We can always use supporters. I'm the liason for the state of Alabama....or I was until I moved. Interesting but useless fact: when Leonard Peltier hid in Canada (before he was illegally extradited), he was hiding on the reserve where I live now.

It breaks my heart every letter I get with yet more setbacks and another appeal denied. Meanwhile, he's nearly blind in one eye now due to diabetes, and has had a stroke in the last year or so. He's been moved, too, and was kept in solitary for over six weeks with no access to a doctor, no letters, etc., because it was "for his own safety."

It's hard not to be bitter, really.

 

[haha_on_me]

Oh, he and I are good friends, going back several years. He's Shoshone, and we've compared notes on language, since both his and mine are Aztec-derived vs. Algonquin-derived that I hear every day.

I'm belong to the Deer Clan...the fast runners. My great-grandmother was on the trail of tears, and somehow survived it, even though she was just a small girl.

An older lady here on the rez in Ontario taught me how to make porcupine quill baskets. It was quite an honor for her to teach me, since the art is normally passed down from mother to daughter only. We have quite a few artisans living there, in fact, my SO is an artist - a painter. He was recently named Artist in Residence for the local museum. Living on the reservation is an experience - I wasn't raised on the reserve, so it's been very new to me, but very comforting to be surrounded by those like me.

I've read the book, too, and have passed it on to others who might be interested in what really happened. We can always use supporters. I'm the liason for the state of Alabama....or I was until I moved. Interesting but useless fact: when Leonard Peltier hid in Canada (before he was illegally extradited), he was hiding on the reserve where I live now.

It breaks my heart every letter I get with yet more setbacks and another appeal denied. Meanwhile, he's nearly blind in one eye now due to diabetes, and has had a stroke in the last year or so. He's been moved, too, and was kept in solitary for over six weeks with no access to a doctor, no letters, etc., because it was "for his own safety."

It's hard not to be bitter, really.

I'm going to get smacked in the head one of these days by confusing Shoshone with Cheyenne.
Oh what a treat it would be to learn from an elder! So much has been lost.

Indianapolis Eiteljorge Museum (A Native American museum) holds an anual Indian Art Market in August. It draws huge crowds, and many works of art are sold. It seems that the artist market is doing very well.

I'm always shamed at the way Leonard has been treated.

 

[cloudy]

I'm going to get smacked in the head one of these days by confusing Shoshone with Cheyenne.
Oh what a treat it would be to learn from an elder! So much has been lost.

Indianapolis Eiteljorge Museum (A Native American museum) holds an anual Indian Art Market in August. It draws huge crowds, and many works of art are sold. It seems that the artist market is doing very well.

I'm always shamed at the way Leonard has been treated.

I don't know if you live near any reservation or not, but most elders are glad to pass on what they know if they are asked respectfully, and brought some tobacco.

I was lucky. For some reason Lorraine just took to me. She told my SO (in Ojibway, before I knew any of it), that I had the right spirit, so she decided to teach me. They're so beautiful, and so time-consuming, but a small one, maybe just three inches oval, will sell for close to $60 at the powwows because so few people know how to make them anymore, and porcupines are getting harder and harder to find.

eta: here's a pic of one. It's not one I made, but I make them very similar to this. They're made from quills and birch bark:

http://www.tribalexpressions.com/weaving/images/sjqblrg.jpg

 

[haha_on_me]

I don't know if you live near any reservation or not, but most elders are glad to pass on what they know if they are asked respectfully, and brought some tobacco.

I was lucky. For some reason Lorraine just took to me. She told my SO (in Ojibway, before I knew any of it), that I had the right spirit, so she decided to teach me. They're so beautiful, and so time-consuming, but a small one, maybe just three inches oval, will sell for close to $60 at the powwows because so few people know how to make them anymore, and porcupines are getting harder and harder to find.

eta: here's a pic of one. It's not one I made, but I make them very similar to this. They're made from quills and birch bark:

http://www.tribalexpressions.com/weaving/images/sjqblrg.jpg

Ah yes, the gift of tobacco. I leave gifts of tobacco for the spirits when I arrowhead hunt in a field near me.

There are no reservations near me. I believe the nearest is something like 300 miles. The Cherokee Reservation.

I bought a whole bunch of porcupine quills a few years back, and attempted a Medicine Wheel. After getting stuck about a zillion times, I set it aside. I can't believe they keep them in their mouths to keep them moist! I'm afraid I'd swallow them.
The bowl is beautiful. Simply stunning. It impresses me of the patience it takes. You'll have to show your works.

 

[cloudy]

Ah yes, the gift of tobacco. I leave gifts of tobacco for the spirits when I arrowhead hunt in a field near me.

There are no reservations near me. I believe the nearest is something like 300 miles. The Cherokee Reservation.

I bought a whole bunch of porcupine quills a few years back, and attempted a Medicine Wheel. After getting stuff about a zillion times, I set it aside. I can't believe they keep them in their mouths to keep them moist! I'm afraid I'd swallow them.
The bowl is beautiful. Simply stunning. It impresses me of the patience it takes. You'll have to show your works.

you don't have to keep the quills in your mouth - you can soak them in a bowl - it's just much handier to have them within reach that way.

 

[haha_on_me]

you don't have to keep the quills in your mouth - you can soak them in a bowl - it's just much handier to have them within reach that way.

Now somebody tells me! You know how hard those things are to get out of your skin, let alone your mouth? hahahahaha. Quick spin and pull....but still. haha