The Dancing Stick

Brodie said this Dancing Stick took him about 14 months to complete. If I remember correctly, the stick itself is about three and a half feet long. That is a good chunk of beadwork, isn't it? 

The beads are laid over deerhide. The loop at the top and the feathers are attached to soft hide as well.

Brodie says sticks were used in brush when tracking. Now they use them when dancing. A lot of you have probably never seen American Indians dancing. I assure you, it is inspiring! Living in Oklahoma we probably take it for granted. How I wish you could see Brodie's work for yourself.



I asked Brodie about the seemingly misplaced beads. "It can't be perfect." He said serenely. The Spirit guides him where to place the beads, and he prays.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

A Warrior's Fan

I unwrapped the package Brodie handed me and out spilled a huge bundle of feathers. Whoa! He had said he was bringing in a fan to show me but this wasn't even close to what I imagined. I was thinking something more along the lines of a Japanese paper fan, maybe? 

"Brodie, which way is up?" I asked. 

"It doesn't matter." He replied.

"You've got it upside down." Brodie chided, after I had snapped the first photo.
"Brodie!" I exclaimed, "Stop teasing me!" And I turned it right side up.

Again, the bead work is done over thin deer hide. This time on a hardwood dowel. The feathers are loosely jointed and it's the red feathers that make this a warrior's fan.



The beads are so tiny and the design is just stunning. It's hard to believe he follows no pattern and just comes up with a design so intricate. Really amazing work, isn't it?

Many thanks to Brodie for sharing this with me!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

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