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Monday, October 17, 2011

A Beaver's Gift

Meet my friend Brodie. Brodie is a long-time customer in my store. He is a Native American of the Hualapai tribe. He has been telling me for ages of the beaded walking stick he's been working on and I have been pestering him to bring it in so I can see it. Here awhile back he finished it and today he finally remembered to bring it in!


The beading is lovely. No pattern is followed, all of this is just comes to him as he works. 


Forgive these crappy photos. All I had was my cell phone to take the pictures with. Hey, I was at work!


This design took Brodie eleven months to finish. The beading is done on top of a soft, thin, tanned deer hide. It follows the bumps and swells of the stick. Tiny, tiny glass beads. They really sparkle in the sunlight!


The stick itself was brought to Brodie's house by a beaver. That's right, it was a gift from an honest-to-goodness beaver. You can even see the tooth-marks left in the wood as Mr. Beaver cleaned all the bark off. I think Brodie made a treasure out of the Beaver's gift! 


Brodie has promised to bring in more of his work to share with me. I can't wait to see it.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!
xox
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58 comments:

  1. Lisa VOctober 17, 2011 at 6:21:00 PM CDT

    What amazing artwork, he is a very talented man.
    Received your ornie and posted to the blog for all to see, thanks Sharon I love it!
    Hugs

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  2. BarbiOctober 17, 2011 at 6:35:00 PM CDT

    Beautiful craftsmenship!

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  3. staciOctober 17, 2011 at 6:48:00 PM CDT

    Amazing indeed!

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  4. valerieOctober 17, 2011 at 6:48:00 PM CDT

    Wow, that is amazing! And the beadwork is so pretty!

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  5. Claudette497October 17, 2011 at 6:49:00 PM CDT

    That is wonderful - I love those beads and the pattern he made with them is beautiful!

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  6. FayeOctober 17, 2011 at 7:01:00 PM CDT

    Art comes in so many great forms...Thanks for sharing this unique piece....Faye

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  7. JanOctober 17, 2011 at 7:21:00 PM CDT

    Wow! This is just beautiful. This is a dying art. I hope he has passed on his gift to some of the younger people. His work is wonderful.

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  8. Sweet SueOctober 17, 2011 at 7:26:00 PM CDT

    This is one of the many reasons I enjoy visiting you Sharon, nice variety of cultures and crafts ~ TFS!

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  9. Kathy A.October 17, 2011 at 7:33:00 PM CDT

    Please relay to Brodie my admiration of his incredible talent. It is wonderful to see such art still exists.

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  10. Cross Stitch QueenOctober 17, 2011 at 8:43:00 PM CDT

    It is truly inspired. He is very talented. One can tell that he believes in the sanctity of nature and respects Mother Earth.

    Truly amazing,
    CSQ
    betweenthestitches.blogspot.com

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  11. ZiggyeorOctober 17, 2011 at 8:45:00 PM CDT

    amazing work on the bow!

    posting this link here in case there are any knitters who would like to help the oil spill in New Zealand
    http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/103722

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  12. The Outgoing IntrovertOctober 17, 2011 at 10:16:00 PM CDT

    WOW, that is gorgeous!!!! What an awesome talent he has. Love it and thanks so much for sharing it with us!!

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  13. UnknownOctober 17, 2011 at 11:49:00 PM CDT

    That is just beautiful and what an heirloom. I adore Native American beading. Thanks for sharing xx

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  14. AnonymousOctober 17, 2011 at 11:50:00 PM CDT

    Wow! That is gorgeous. Tell Brodie it is an amazing piece of art. His bead work is beyond words. I love the story of the beaver.

    Thank you for sharing.

    Hugs,
    Carolyn

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  15. katicaOctober 18, 2011 at 12:53:00 AM CDT

    absolutely beautiful!

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  16. FionaOctober 18, 2011 at 1:11:00 AM CDT

    It is fantastic... I'm so glad you got some pictures and were able to show us...
    Hugz

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  17. StitchabilitiesOctober 18, 2011 at 1:17:00 AM CDT

    Wow,Well done that man. What an inspiration he is to us all!

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  18. CarmenOctober 18, 2011 at 1:30:00 AM CDT

    beautiful beadworking!

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  19. Diane (di)October 18, 2011 at 1:34:00 AM CDT

    Oh my goodness, that is so beautiful. And without a pattern, too. Thanks for sharing his artistry with us Sharon (and please let him know how much we love it).

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  20. MouseOctober 18, 2011 at 2:04:00 AM CDT

    ooooo lovely .. that's a lot of of beading done beautifully .. the story of the stick is cute too .... hope he can teach some one else how to do this wonderful craft :) love mouse xxxx

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  21. JulieOctober 18, 2011 at 2:47:00 AM CDT

    A truly fabulous post Sharon, such a beautiful piece, such talent inherited from his ancestors. Big thank you for sharing this special stick here. Xx

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  22. Patty C.October 18, 2011 at 3:27:00 AM CDT

    I like it - So much work - His design is very nice ;)

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  23. SharonOctober 18, 2011 at 3:36:00 AM CDT

    I just love it... The work is timeless and beautiful... A true crafts person here - including the beaver... Thanks for showing it to us...

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  24. BekcaOctober 18, 2011 at 3:56:00 AM CDT

    Wow, that's amazing. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures.

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  25. cuckiOctober 18, 2011 at 4:57:00 AM CDT

    truly beautiful..we also have lots of bead work art here in south africa..one day i will share it with you all..
    thank you for sharing it with us all xxx

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  26. ChristineOctober 18, 2011 at 5:42:00 AM CDT

    Wow, that is amazing!

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  27. RachelOctober 18, 2011 at 7:01:00 AM CDT

    Wow, that is beautiful! Such a talent he has. I would love to see more, so I hope you can get more photos to share! :)

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  28. The Knitting Cross StitcherOctober 18, 2011 at 7:50:00 AM CDT

    Gorgeous bead work,such vibrant colours. I hope too, that you will be able to share more photos with us.

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  29. PumpkinOctober 18, 2011 at 7:53:00 AM CDT

    Beautiful work!

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  30. The Inspired StitcherOctober 18, 2011 at 8:14:00 AM CDT

    What an amazing piece of art and what an amazing artist! Please thank him for sharing it with us.

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  31. Cindy's StitchingOctober 18, 2011 at 9:25:00 AM CDT

    That is so nice. What an amazing piece of work. i love the colors.

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  32. geeky HeatherOctober 18, 2011 at 9:52:00 AM CDT

    How cool is that!! Tell him we all said it's a great work of art!

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  33. CatherineOctober 18, 2011 at 1:19:00 PM CDT

    I absolutely love it!! How amazing that the beaver brought the stick to him!

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  34. Carolyn NCOctober 18, 2011 at 3:18:00 PM CDT

    It's gorgeous - and what a cool story!

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  35. MelanieOctober 18, 2011 at 4:39:00 PM CDT

    What an amazing piece of work! So lovely and unique. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

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  36. KarenOctober 18, 2011 at 6:12:00 PM CDT

    Incredible craftsmanship! I love the fact that it was brought to him by a beaver. It's such a beautiful combination of nature and human ability. Priceless!

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  37. SharonOctober 18, 2011 at 6:13:00 PM CDT

    What a BEAUTIFUL, amazing piece of work! I am just stunned that this comes from his heart and not from a pattern. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us! This is a treasure that I'm sure many of your "bloggie buddies" would never know existed if you hadn't shared. :)

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  38. RhonaOctober 19, 2011 at 5:49:00 PM CDT

    Wow! Amazing...thanks for sharing!

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  39. ~Lavender Dreamer~October 19, 2011 at 6:53:00 PM CDT

    What a beautiful work of art! I'm enjoying your blog! ♥

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  40. LynnOctober 19, 2011 at 10:11:00 PM CDT

    Brodie's craftmanship is stunning!! I love the attention to detail in the beading.

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  41. Lauren - Ambitious StitchesOctober 21, 2011 at 7:33:00 AM CDT

    That is beautiful work!!

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  42. P.J.October 23, 2011 at 7:49:00 PM CDT

    The seed bead work is gorgeous! Please pay Brodie my compliments. I can just feel the texture and coolness of the beads on the palm of my hand. Beautiful.

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  43. CalamityJrOctober 23, 2011 at 9:44:00 PM CDT

    Brodie did an amazing job beading his gift from the beaver. I have a feeling that's very important to his heritage, the sharing with the animals.

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  44. NancyOctober 23, 2011 at 10:57:00 PM CDT

    Beautiful work. I love Native American beadwork and other crafts.

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  45. PikeOctober 24, 2011 at 7:54:00 AM CDT

    WOW, that is great beading, truly!

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  46. KatrienOctober 24, 2011 at 2:19:00 PM CDT

    That's truly beautiful, a piece of art.

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  47. LindaOctober 24, 2011 at 6:20:00 PM CDT

    That beadwork is amazing.

    Linda

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  48. Raven/MissyOctober 25, 2011 at 8:53:00 AM CDT

    I think it is cool that the beaver gifted Brodie with the stick. His bead work is gorgeous! How nice of him to share his work with you, it is truly beautiful.

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  49. ceratoOctober 25, 2011 at 1:20:00 PM CDT

    Beautiful work. You are a lucky woman!!
    Hugs

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  50. Sun City StitcherOctober 26, 2011 at 1:15:00 PM CDT

    I LOVE it, thanks for sharing and lucky you to have Brodie visit your store.

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  51. Aussie StitcherOctober 28, 2011 at 3:04:00 AM CDT

    That is amazing, he has a real gift. Looking forward to seeing more of his work.

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  52. MaryBethOctober 29, 2011 at 6:01:00 PM CDT

    Wow he does gorgeous work. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  53. RobertaOctober 29, 2011 at 7:47:00 PM CDT

    Sharon, this is incredible - I love it, what a talented man and I bet you cannot wait to see what else he brings in.

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  54. LeeOctober 30, 2011 at 6:33:00 AM CDT

    wow that beading is outstanding. Very talented person and persistent!

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  55. MeariOctober 31, 2011 at 12:52:00 PM CDT

    That is really cool. Wow!

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  56. Susan in SCNovember 1, 2011 at 5:05:00 PM CDT

    This is gorgeous. What a beautiful walking stick.

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  57. Ann at Beadlework.November 2, 2011 at 2:14:00 PM CDT

    This is what I love about blogging - you get a chance to see things you would otherwise miss out on. I love Native American beadwork.

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  58. HoorayForLaurenNovember 4, 2011 at 4:37:00 PM CDT

    After seeing him all the time, I had NO idea he did this kind of thing! It's gorgeous!

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