This I call the Sun, Moon, and Starts wall hanging. I am always shopping for beads and baubles and sometimes I find things that I am not really looking for but that I can't pass up. They come home with me and roll around my supplies and finally a day comes and I have the perfect piece.
In this case it was the star. This is a handmade piece by a local potter in my area...so there is that...the star part. Then there is the boon. This piece is one of my moon rattles that I sell in my shop. It is currently fixed to the hanging but it could be altered so that it is removable. It has a rawhide head attached to the wooden handle and it is infused with gemstones to bring you peace, balance, hope, healing, and love. Then there is the sun. This is a yellow leather bowl made b y the sun and the wind.
There are 5 different colors of leather on this wall hanging and it is multi layered to boast extra fringe and thickness. All of the leathers are deerskin which represent moving through life with grace. it has a reddish brown on the top flap and in the fringe, Dark Chocolate on the back layer, Tobacco on the left, Yellow in the middle, and Rust on the right. All of these layers hang on a Juniper wood branch. Juniper wood is used for ceremonial purposes to purify the mind, body, and spirit. This makes the perfect anchor for this piece that is representing so many elements.
Next we have a few details. On the top there is a hand dyed sari ribbon in almost the same color as the sun. It is woven into the leather with a few fringed hanging down on the left. it is also wrapped around the base of the moon rattle and there are a couple of fringes that make the rays of the sun toward the bottom.
On the left side there is a fringe of Cherokee Cron tears (aka Job's tears). These beads are amazing and I grown them in my own garden. There are different stories in different cultures about Job's tears. In the Bible, Job endured great suffering and it is said that no one shed more tears than Job, and these beads have been a symbol of that. They have been documented back to 200BC and are probably one of the oldest known beads. For years these beads have been known for their use in Catholic rosaries and it was known to be a favorite of Mother Theresa's.
From the Native American side, both the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee nation in Oklahoma call. these beads "corn bears", or "Cherokee Corn tears" and have been using them for personal adornment since at least the time of the United Cherokee Republic. A common fold story is that the cron beads sprang up along the path during the 1838 forced march of many Cherokee to Oklahoma from their southwestern North American homelands by the US military, know as the Trail of Tears. For me these are part of my heritage as my ancestors were on the Trail. I like adding them to my pieces because I feel like they represent the strength of our ancestors and remind us not to gorget where we have come from.
There are also more handmade pottery beads at the base of the moon, in the fridge on the bottom right and on the inside of the moon with copper cones hanging off of the sun rays.
This is 62" in length...because of the amount of leather and after it has been hanging for a while it might be moving towards the 63" mark. the Juniper is 16" and the basic width of this piece is 11".
I find it very grounding, full of goodness to remind us of the constants in life....the sun, moon, the stars, and the earth and wind. They are all still the same as they were when we were born. The landscape changes and humans concrete the earth but these are still our constants in life.
This I call the Sun, Moon, and Starts wall hanging. I am always shopping for beads and baubles and sometimes I find things that I am not really looking for but that I can't pass up. They come home with me and roll around my supplies and finally a day comes and I have the perfect piece.
In this case it was the star. This is a handmade piece by a local potter in my area...so there is that...the star part. Then there is the boon. This piece is one of my moon rattles that I sell in my shop. It is currently fixed to the hanging but it could be altered so that it is removable. It has a rawhide head attached to the wooden handle and it is infused with gemstones to bring you peace, balance, hope, healing, and love. Then there is the sun. This is a yellow leather bowl made b y the sun and the wind.
There are 5 different colors of leather on this wall hanging and it is multi layered to boast extra fringe and thickness. All of the leathers are deerskin which represent moving through life with grace. it has a reddish brown on the top flap and in the fringe, Dark Chocolate on the back layer, Tobacco on the left, Yellow in the middle, and Rust on the right. All of these layers hang on a Juniper wood branch. Juniper wood is used for ceremonial purposes to purify the mind, body, and spirit. This makes the perfect anchor for this piece that is representing so many elements.
Next we have a few details. On the top there is a hand dyed sari ribbon in almost the same color as the sun. It is woven into the leather with a few fringed hanging down on the left. it is also wrapped around the base of the moon rattle and there are a couple of fringes that make the rays of the sun toward the bottom.
On the left side there is a fringe of Cherokee Cron tears (aka Job's tears). These beads are amazing and I grown them in my own garden. There are different stories in different cultures about Job's tears. In the Bible, Job endured great suffering and it is said that no one shed more tears than Job, and these beads have been a symbol of that. They have been documented back to 200BC and are probably one of the oldest known beads. For years these beads have been known for their use in Catholic rosaries and it was known to be a favorite of Mother Theresa's.
From the Native American side, both the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee nation in Oklahoma call. these beads "corn bears", or "Cherokee Corn tears" and have been using them for personal adornment since at least the time of the United Cherokee Republic. A common fold story is that the cron beads sprang up along the path during the 1838 forced march of many Cherokee to Oklahoma from their southwestern North American homelands by the US military, know as the Trail of Tears. For me these are part of my heritage as my ancestors were on the Trail. I like adding them to my pieces because I feel like they represent the strength of our ancestors and remind us not to gorget where we have come from.
There are also more handmade pottery beads at the base of the moon, in the fridge on the bottom right and on the inside of the moon with copper cones hanging off of the sun rays.
This is 62" in length...because of the amount of leather and after it has been hanging for a while it might be moving towards the 63" mark. the Juniper is 16" and the basic width of this piece is 11".
I find it very grounding, full of goodness to remind us of the constants in life....the sun, moon, the stars, and the earth and wind. They are all still the same as they were when we were born. The landscape changes and humans concrete the earth but these are still our constants in life.