A Perfect Week-End!

Pow Wow Grand Entry: Head Woman Dancer and Head Man Dancer

This perfect week-end started off last Saturday when my son, Patrick, and I drove to Winnebago, Nebraska to attend the 142nd Annual Winnebago Pow Wow. Usually when we attend a Pow Wow, it is after hours of work loading our wares to vend at the event. It was so nice to grab my purse and hop in the car with Patrick to drive.

Winnebago is about 1 1/2 hours from Omaha. Upon arrival, I spotted a vendor named Beading Deals from Minnesota. They sell seed beads and are usually at the Creighton Pow Wow in Omaha each April. They were not here this past April. So, of course, I had to load up on several hanks of their wonderful beads without a clue as to what I will make from them. But I know that some day they will speak to me and it is a long time until next April when I hope to see this trader again.

Three Examples of Regalia

We continued our tour all of the booths then took at rest in the bleachers to watch the dancers in their colorful regalia. The beat of drums, the perfect weather, the wonderful American flags surrounding the dance arena made one proud to be alive and able to participate in this wonderful event.

Give-away Honoring Veterans

In mid-afternoon a give-away was held. This was a gifting of Native American Blankets for the Veterans of Viet Nam followed by all other Veterans and Active Duty Personnel. It was truly moving. In the Indian tradition, each of these men and woman were gifted by the tribe as a way of thanking them for their past and/or present service. After the blankets were distributed one by one, the people attending the Pow Wow, passed through the receiving line to shake hands as a way of honoring and thanking each one for their service and sacrifice.

Patrick Starting To Eat His Indian Taco

After the give-away, Patrick and I indulged ourselves with a traditional Indian Taco and fresh squeezed lemonade. They were yummy! In fact, the lemonade was so refreshing that I had to have a second one to enjoy on the road back home.

Indian Taco: Fry Bread, Seasoned Ground Beef, Condiments

But wait, I must confess to a bit of personal indulgence....I purchased a sterling silver concho and black leather bracelet for myself. The day was so perfect that I justified the purchase as a tangible memoir of the day's events. It will remind me that for one afternoon in a troubled world, we enjoyed peace and celebration.

My Little Indulgence

Now if you haven't had enough about this Pow Wow, you can see additional photos on my Flickr, pages 1 and 2 at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstinson/

Digital NDN

When I returned home, I discovered that my day of native celebration was not over. Adina Cain, one of my Native friends from Etsy had done a treasury and included one of my beaded barrettes. You can see it in the top left corner. I was honored! What a way to top of a perfect day!

Digital NDN was the name of her treasury. NDN...get it? (Indian). Adina's Etsy store is named Leelinau. She is an enrolled tribal member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Her reservation is located 6 hours north of Milwaukee on the densely wooded shores of Lake Superior.

Adina makes wonderful medicine bags, beaded jewelry, feather pieces and dream catchers. You can see her work at: http://www.leelinau.etsy.com/ You will be glad you visited.

My 50th Etsy Sale

This is the piece that made my 50th Etsy sale. I joined Etsy as a buyer in January of 2007 but did not begin listing items for sale until late January, 2008. While 50 sales in this time frame of six months may not seem like many to some, there is so much jewelry for sale on Etsy that it is a miracle to me!

This piece is on its way to "dumauvobleu" in France. Catherine is the owner of an Etsy store named dumauvobleu or La Boutique de Cathy. She is an outstanding clay artist. I recently purchased two of her wonderful pendants. We are presently in communication for her to make two cabachons for me in designs similar to the pendants I purchased. I plan to do a series called "Viva La Native" melding her work with mine.

If you would like to see wonderful cane/clay work, please visit her store at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5518984

Merci, Cathy for my 50th sale!

So a Perfect Week-end comes to an end and if only all were at Peace with the world!

I Treasure Turtles

Turtles are totem animals in Native American culture. They are said to be the oldest symbol for planet Earth and represent the North American Continent which the ancients called "Turtle Island .

As totems, turtles teach the art of grounding, they shield one from hurt and envy and suggest we go inward as they do for contemplation. They have the power of earth and water.

I can say with some degree of of assurance, that I am probably one of the few people on earth with a bouquet of turtles in my living room! I purchased the majority of the turtles seen in the photo in the fall of 2006 with plans to put them in my garden. Since it was late in the season, I decided not to put them out until the following spring.

Instead, I stuck them in an umbrella stand, meaning to move them later.

After awhile, I had grown to like them there and simply left them so that they could "ground" me on a daily basis. They generated much conversation during the following months. Then a strange thing began to happen. Gold spiral twigs were added. Then came some greenery. And soon, I was gifted with a turtle walking stick. And most recently, my friend, Veronica Wetzel, purchased a turtle metal sculpure for me at Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha. She was on a tour of these beautiful gardens and thought of me when she saw this wonderful piece in their gift shop. It is the latest addition to my bale of turtles. Yes, a group of turtles is called a bale, not a herd!

In addition to the bouquet of turtles in the living room, I have numerous turtles made in a variety of materials tucked here and there throughout the house and in my jewelry box. I gave my granddaughter, Sydney, a sterling silver turtle ring for her birthday this year.

My most recent "turtle treasure acquisition" is a pair of earrings. I purchased these earrings from an Etsy store named The Filigree Gardens. It is owned by a fellow member of the Boomer Street Team on Etsy. Her name is Olivia and she lives in Menden, MA. Liv, as we call her in our team chats, is a talented artist.

I copied Liv's store announcement as it describes her store better than I could. It says, "The Filigree Garden is always in bloom with unique handcrafted accessories inspired by nature. In The Garden you will find one-of-a-kind and limited edition jewelry and sewn items that blend repurposed and vintage pieces with new elements and findings. You can visit her store by clicking on this link:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5373919

You can see the earrings that I purchased by clicking this link:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=9376551

You will be glad that you visited her shop. Her work is wonderful!

Yes, I do treasure turtles and hope this explains some of the reasons why.