I love animal Totems. A few years ago we spent the summer in PEI. I would walk the beach daily for treasures. There somehow were a lot of feathers, which i started using in little hanging feather/bead gifts for people.
Haven’t quite figured out how to incorporate feathers into my baskets, and somehow here in BC am not finding a lot of them, but the idea of incorporating animal spirit into baskets remains.
One day i was to meet with a client, he creates native art and I did a site for him, and out of that conversation stemmed a gift bag of goodies that he left on my step. Things he had collected over the years and wasn’t using. In that treasure trove, was some porcupine quills.
Of course i immediately looked up what the totem was or porcupine:
The quills of the Porcupine symbolize the generations of ancestors and their wisdom that have come before, each quill a representation of a family ancestor. Porcupine carries great meaning for connecting to ancient ancestors and their way of life, and the knowledge of living in harmony with the land and other animals. The energy of respect is at the core of all that Porcupine symbolizes.
Not only were they beautiful, but the symbolism was amazing. A birdhouse was born. To this day it remains my favorite.
Here’s my environmental art board:
[fts pinterest pinterest_name=khadley56 board_id=environmental-art type=single_board_pins]
And my Birdhouse art board:
[fts pinterest pinterest_name=khadley56 board_id=birdhouses type=single_board_pins]
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There is always a great joy in creating, especially when you go off on a tangent, which then opens up a whole new vision. These ah moments are what artists thrive on. For me it sparks a flow which some of my best work evolves.
Early this summer I was merrily enjoying creating baskets, finding new and interesting fibers/beads to incorporate, exploring shape, and form. A couple we knew were getting married in august, and since they had lived together for sometime, so had a house full of what they needed, I questioned them about a wedding gift. The answer was quick, birdhouses. They wanted to fill the yard/house with birdhouses of all kinds. Genius, simple!
Of course that got my wheels going around the possibility of creating a birdhouse with pine needles…. and voila, this beauty to the right came out.
Which then sparked a whole new tangent, just waiting to spew forth!
My partner and i went off on the boat for a week. We stayed at Jedediah Island, which is known for it’s herd of wild sheep and goats.
As we were exploring the island, i kept picking up little tufts of sheep wool, planning my next birdhouse basket. Every evening relaxing on the boat, while being read out loud to, i’d stitch and stitch.
The wedding gift emerged.
