I am very happy with this little bowl! I used to make more ceremonial objects and would like to do more of them again...this is the first of the new wave...
:: Ancestral Turquoise ::
This is my finest prehistoric-style necklace to date...truly a treasure!
The finished plaited yucca sandals. The greener one is today's.
:: Sandals, Mogollon-Style ::
This is why I haven't listed anything new since last week...on Saturday I took my prehistoric Southwestern ornament-making gear up to the beautiful Valles Caldera Preserve in the Jemez Mountains. They were having a special event and doing demos of primitive earth skills as a part of it. While everyone baked in 100 degree heat down at home, we set up shop under a large tent and enjoyed a day of gorgeous views and weather in the 80s, punctuated by a gentle, cooling thunderstorm.
Nick Jarman, ranger and archaeologist, had cut two large bundles of banana yucca leaves down near Socorro, and was making Mogollon plaited sandals. In many ways, the Mogollon culture was very similar to the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) culture, but was centered in the mountains and deserts to the south of the Four Corners region, and this particular type of sandal was made by them.
I watched Nick prep the wide, fleshy leaves by bruising them with a stone against a log, but didn't really get to watch the whole process. My enthusiasm must have showed, though, because when the day was over he gave my both bundles of leftover leaves (a LOT of leaves...), handed me a copy of an article about how to make the sandals, and told me to use the leaves in the next couple of days before they dried out.
The workspace with the first finished sole.
So, on Sunday morning I took everything out back under the portal, located a couple of appropriate rocks for pounding the leaves, and got to work before it got too damn hot. I had a small stone knife I'd bought from Matt Lewis at the Caldera, so everything was done old-school with primitive tools. It took a while to figure things out, like splitting and trimming the leaves, and splicing, but amazingly the result looked pretty authentic. You start at the toe and then bend the long end over and secure it for the heel; the extra padding provides instep support. Then I used the article's illustrations to do the straps.
Today's sandal, with yesterday's on the left, looking a lot drier.
This morning was actually cool so I made the other sandal and redid the straps for both. You're supposed to wear them while they're still green and squishy so they'll mold to your foot, but I was in the studio on the new carpet so that didn't happen. As they dry, they will become stiff and turn the familiar basket-brown.
I take comfort in the fact that, should civilization collapse, I will at least be able to provide us with shoes.
I'm still left with a lot of leaves to process for fibers...but I might try another pair of sandals as well...
Meanwhile, there are several really special prehistoric-style pendants and necklaces to photo and list here and on Etsy, starting tomorrow!
The newest offering in the shop.
:: Primal Dreaming ::
Here's a new one for you, a very primal piece that I am very happy with. It has that sense of coherency that comes with only the most successful pieces, and a great feeling.
So no, I haven't disappeared from the face of the Earth. After such an intensely busy spring, I took some time off in June to go see Amma and then promptly caught a bad case of bronchitis that was going around the crowds there. I was down for two weeks and ever since then have been in primitive mode, and am really on a roll with it. I have made a number of new pieces using primitive stone tools, handmade yucca fiber cordage, and homemade pitch glue for mosaic adhesive, and spent a day over around Zuni pueblo hunting and gathering raw materials for grinding at the trading posts.
None of these pieces will show up here as yet. Even though I have sworn off doing shows, the flintknapping group received an invitation to do a demo at the Earth Skills Gathering up at the Valles Caldera Preserve on July 23, and I decided to go do a demo of prehistoric Southwestern ornaments. I'll have a wide range of things to sell, from simple stone pendants on yucca cord to the more elaborate pieces, and then I'll list whatever doesn't sell either here or in my Etsy shop.
Other than that, things are quiet here in the high desert. The big heat has set in and we are all awaiting the monsoon rains, which are thus far nowhere to be seen. Eventually they will come, sooner or later.
Stay cool, everyone...!
Ancestral Pueblo replicas on display by Mary Weahkee and others. Left to right, yucca sifter/washing baskets, yucca pot rests, juniper root and yucca cordage dyed with its bark, antler arrow straightener with fine yucca cordage, thick yucca rope and yucca leaf sandals, all on a beaver pelt. At top is a harvested narrowleaf yucca, atlatl and various arrows and darts.
:: Yucca Cordage Time! ::
Hey everyone, I'm back from an exhausting and amazing few days with Amma. As always, it was an intense time, but filled with the incomparable blessings of my beloved satguru. I like to set aside as much money as I can to spend in her shop, because every cent of the proceeds goes to her many charities and institutions. And since much (probably most) of the materials and labor for the merchandise in her shop are donated, that's a lot of bang for your buck. I want to thank all of you who have supported my work in recent months, and let you know that most of that income went to support those charities.
On Saturday morning before I went up to see Amma, Pueblo artist and archeologist Mary Weahkee was across the river from us at the Kuaua Ruins giving a demonstration of yucca cordage making. I had met her several years ago and was glad to have the opportunity to hone my skills. I took a bunch of pictures and scrawled notes, which I am deciphering in my notebook, and today a roaster pan full of our yucca leaves is simmering in the oven. When they're done I'll prepare the fibers and make some cordage. Eventually I hope to be able to make cordage that is fine and soft enough to be used in necklaces.
So with the advent of summer I am slowing down from the intense pace of the spring, to work on improving my skills, explore some new things and get back to drawing, which I have been missing very much lately. There's a bowl of turquoise on my worktable wanting to go into settings, too! I'll keep you posted.
:: Website Problems ::
It has come to my attention that customers have been having trouble making purchases from my website. Over the past week, two people have tried to buy pieces and have not been able to. I'm going to look into this as soon as I return from retreat at the end of this coming week.
In the meantime, if anyone has been having any problems at all with this site, including slow loading time for pages, weird messages, trouble accessing the site, or whatever, please let me know! It will help me get things up and running the way they should.
Please be sure to see my last post as well...I'll be back next week!
Blessings...Dawn
:: It's Amma Time! ::
I will be away from the studio for the next week, as it is time for Amma's annual visit to New Mexico. I'll be with here through next Thursday morning and will be offline during that time for retreat, but the shop here and on Etsy will remain open. My next shipping day will be Friday 6/24. Happy Summer Solstice everyone!
A tiny cactus near our house, practically invisible beneath its crown of beautiful flowers.
:: A Necklace Out of The Bisti ::
The Taos Series has run its course for now and I have wandered off westward, to the remote Bisti Badlands in search of new inspiration. This simple choker is like my fused fine silver charm bracelets, but is a simple chain of oversized, very primitive and organic links.
:: The Taos Series ::
Well, you've probably been wondering where I went...several days ago I said new pieces were coming and then I disappeared! I've been working long days on what I think is becoming a new series, my "Taos Series"...at least there's two of them so far (a three-necklace set is in my Etsy shop), and a third set is nearly complete. These are necklace sets that are made for layering, composed of small pendants on silver chains and maybe a larger, more dramatic necklace. They were inspired by the colors, textures and feeling of the Taos area, with its wild open mesas, the stunning Rio Grande Gorge, and the Sangre de Christo mountains. The palette is more subdued and cooler than most desert colors, favoring sage greens, greys, weathered browns and deep olives. Like Taos, the feeling is very earthy, grounded, and rustic, but also down-to-earth and unpretentious, organic, and accessible.
The Taos Rustic layering trio, just listed in my Etsy shop.
When I wear everyday jewelry I've come to prefer simplicity and usually throw on one or two favorite pendants on long silver chains. So that's the idea behind these pieces: you can mix and match them however suits you in the moment.
Also, I don't know about you, but I've lost count of the times I've gone into favorite clothing shops and just fallen in love with their aesthetic, only to be sorely disappointed when I take a closer look at their jewelry selection. Either they are made from the cheapest stuff imaginable, or they nicely made but boring...so boring I want to cry. But I love the layering that folks are doing now and I love all the little glimmery beads and fiddly bits in mixed strands of chains, so I decided to try and see if I could bring the Taos colors and vibe into that idea.
I don't know how many of these I'll make, but my worktable is covered with elements, beads and chain...so stay tuned, I'm on a roll...!
Meditation in the sage of Taos Mesa yesterday, looking north.
:: A Long Weekend--Now Back to Work ::
I hope you all had a good holiday weekend. It was a busy one for me! On Saturday and Sunday I was giving a brief crystal grids workshop and doing some very intensive energy work with the shamanic mentorship group I'm part of. It was a powerful and engaging time with a few surprises thrown in. I was left feeling pretty wrung out afterward and decided to go up to Taos yesterday to decompress...and that turned out to be another day of intensive energy work and some exciting finds at Taos Gem and Mineral. So I'm glad to be returning to the studio for some peace and quiet!
Today I wrapped up the three orders that came in over the weekend and shipped them out, and tomorrow I'll be working on new pieces. I picked up a couple of sweet little staurolite Fairy Crosses, which come from the Pilar area just south of Taos, and they may show up in something soon. I also found two tiny, perfect agatized turitella shells from Morocco that are completely intact, thinking that they would make an amazing pair of earrings. That is, if I'm courageous enough to try to drill them...
Look for more pieces coming this way soon!
This tiny cactus flower greeted me on the mesa. It was the only one I saw there.
:: Spring Green Spirit Beads ::
Spring has come to the desert, and I'm celebrating it with these Spirit Beads. This strand is very lightweight and is made to be worn as a necklace!
:: Primitive Charm Bracelet! ::
...Haven't done one of these in a while!
:: A Vessel for Wishes and Dreams ::
Just listed this magical little vessel...
:: Just Listed--Opals! ::
Cathedral Rock on a hot afternoon with a beautiful agave in bloom in the foreground.
:: Heading to Sedona ::
Tomorrow I'm heading to Sedona for a few days after an intensive work period in the studio. Time to soak up some red rock energy. I will wrap and ship any orders placed today tomorrow (Monday, May 2). Still not sure exactly when I'll be back--either Wednesday or Thursday--so my next shipping date will be Thursday or Friday. I'll keep you posted! Have a great week, everyone!
:: Earrings Re-listed! ::
...also today, you'll see that these talisman earrings are back in the shop! It turned out that the color scheme was not quite right for the buyer, so if you're sorry you missed them you have a second chance!
:: The Second Charm Box is Here! ::
:: Lovely Talisman Earrings ::
New today! These are truly lovely!
:: New Treasures ::
It's been a busy week! Here's what's new so far...
:: A Fragile Grace ::
I just listed this ethereal elkhide amulet, filled with sacred copal...truly a piece out of the Dreamtime!