Two New Treasury Features

First, let me say Mvto and Wa-do (Thank you in Creek and Cherokee) to all of those who have included my items in your Treasuries during the summer. I truly appreciate it although I am woefully behind in adding them all to this blog! This morning, I determined that as well intentioned as I may be, back tracking to add them is just not going to happen soon. So, I am moving forward and will, in time, reflect back.



This morning I was honored to be included in the Treasury shown above which was curated by Mystic Silk. Mystic Silk is very special to me because when I was very new to selling on Etsy, Klaire, the owner of Mystic Silk, was the first person to put one of my items in a Treasury. I will never forget that!


Klaire included my Purple Haze bracelet in her current treasury. It is pictured in the center shot of the second row.


Klaire lives in Warren, Ohio. She describes her store as offering unique items of silk art. Her art is not only beautiful, it is usually functional as well. She makes gorgeous silk paintings, scarves and pillows. Her art work can not be duplicated not even by Klaire! So, each of her items is truly ONE of A KIND. To see the beauty of Klaire's work for yourself, visit her store at http://www.mysticsilks.etsy.com/. Mvto and Wa-do Klaire!




This wonderful treasury of turquoise was done by one of my Bbest friends on Etsy. Judy of Jnoriginals and I both belong to the Bbest street team and frequently have the opportunity to chat on line. She doesn't live too far away from me. Her store is in Urbandale, IA (a suburb of Des Moines).


She was kind enough to feature my "Turquoise On Ice" bracelet. It can be viewed on the third row, right in the photo above.


Judy is a thread artist…she sews, knits, and crochets. She makes wonderful felted wool bags, crocheted scarves, coffee cup jackets, coasters, napkin rings and more. You will want to visit Judy’s store at: http://www.jnoriginals.etsy.com/.

Again, Mvto and Wa-do to Klaire and Judy for featuring my items in their wonderful treasuries.

The 204th Annual Omaha Tribal Pow Wow

The 204th Annual Omaha Tribal Pow Wow was held on the Omaha Reservation in Macy, Nebraska on July 29, 30, August 1 and 2, 2008. Here it is, one month later and I'm just now getting around to including the event in my blog! Patrick and I participated in the event as vendors. It was our first time at this Pow Wow. It was an experience we will never forget!

This is reputed to be the oldest of all Pow Wows. It had special significance for me as my uncle, George Walker, was Superintendent of Schools on this reservation for many years. My three cousins grew up at Macy. Being there reminded me of all of my "Uncle Bud's" many kindnesses to me when I was growing up. I wish he were still with us so I could tell him first hand about this experience.

This Pow Wow is all about the dancing! Over 400 talented dancers performed during the Pow Wow and competed for the very lucrative prize money. Fortunately, our booth was near the arena so I got to peek in from time time. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good photographs due to the lights and the motion.

Meet Jaylene. When we setting up, this young lady came over and introduced herself. She is 12 and attends school on the Omaha Reservation. She appointed herself as my assistant. During the event, she dropped by often to straighten anything that appeared out of place on our table, ran errands, and kept us current as to what was going on. She is very bright, inquisitive, polite, and was a big help!

Meet Feather. Feather is Jaylene's baby sister. When Jaylene was not helping me, she was babysitting her little sister. Feather was so tickled that I couldn't get a good shot of her as would not stay still.

This is a young Omaha girl whose family purchased one of my barrettes to add to her new regalia. She is pleased to model it for you!

This is a Jingle dress. Jingles are round metal discs that are shaped into cones. These are attached to the regalia of little girls and women. There are special dances for Jingle Dancers at all Pow Wows. When they move, the motion causes the jingles to jingle. It is truly amazing to see an arena full of Jingle Dancers.

This young lady came to see the Pow Wow and purchased a pair of my Fan Fare earrings as a momento of her Pow Wow experience. She consented to modeling them for me.

This event began on Thursday evening. On Friday, it began at noon and the dancing continued until 3:00 a.m. Saturday! We didn't begin to put away our wares until 2:00. Patrick and I were staying at the Winnevegas Inn, 15 miles away, and didn't get to our room until 3:00. That is a record breaking day of vending for us....15 hours straight! On Saturday, the Pow Wow started again at noon and we left around 1:00 a.m. and felt like it was a short day....LOL! After all, it was only 13 hours! Sunday we left around 9:00 p.m. and returned to Omaha exhausted!

Maybe we will recover in time for the 205th Annual Omaha Pow Wow!

Lincoln Indian Club's 32 Annual Pow Wow 2008

Tom Frenchman II: Dancer and Artist

New Lime Green Jingle Dress

On August 1, 2, 3, 4, 2008, Patrick (son) and I vended at the 32nd Annual Lincoln Indian Club's Pow Wow in Lincoln, NE. Despite the 100 degree weather, we had a marvelous time! Our "Pow Wow Trail" is always exciting as we not only get to share, and hopefully sell, our wares, we get to see old friends and make new ones! This year was no exception.

FEATHER CEREMONY

The little girl in these pictures is wearing her brand new lime green regalia. She worked hard all year to earn a feather and be honored in this year's Feather Ceremony. Members of the family sew new regalia. In this case, they made an appliqued "jingle" dress. She still needed an additional piece and what an honor it was for me, that she and her mother selected one of my barrettes to hold her feather once awarded. Her Uncle John came to the booth after the selection was made to purchase the barrette as his gift to honor her achievement.

My Barrette Selected For Her Regalia

She is one of several young girls that purchased my beaded items to wear during their Feather Ceremonies. The Feather Ceremony is held for young girls and following their ceremony they have earned the right to enter the "circle" for the rest of their lives.

As a beadweaver, this is such a priviledge.

As a daydreamer, who knows, maybe my work will be worn by their children and/or grandchildren long after I have departed this plane. There is no reward greater than for a fellow Native to feel that I have woven just the right piece to add to their regalia!

That Fringe Will Swish and Sway When I Jingle Dance

After today, I will always be welcomed into the "circle"


OLD FRIENDS

This is Mike Scheiblhofer. We have watched him dance at Pow Wows for many years. His wonderful regalia always catches your eye. All of that excellent bead embroidery in his regalia was designed and beaded by him! You may say, "he doesn't look Indian and his name sure doesn't sound Indian", and you would be partially correct.

Mike was adopted by the Omaha Tribe when he was 12 years old. His love for the Omaha culture and tribe is probably greater than many of those with true blood lines. Mike is an excellent dancer and a fine young man.

Howard Miscee, Omaha Tribe Dancer

NEW FRIENDS

Our new friend, Howard Miscee, is a frequent dancer on the Pow Wow circuit but prior to this Pow Wow we had not had the pleasure of spending time with him. Since Howard lives in Omaha, there is no reason that we shouldn't be seeing more of one another as we certainly enjoyed our time together at this event.

Another new friend is pictured at the top of this blog. He is Tom E. Frenchman II. He travels the country, dancing at Pow Wows and resides in Lincoln, NE when he is not on the Pow Wow trail. He is an artist and an expert in clover. Yes, that is what I said, clover. You can see Tom's work at http://www.cloverexpressions.com/.

Next Pow Wow: Macy, Nebraska August 14,15,16,17, 2008

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.

Featured in 6 More Recent Etsy Treasuries

Etsy Treasuries are made by individuals who buy or sell on Etsy. To make a Treasury, one has to be lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time or tenaciously anticipate and schedule the time one will be available. There are a limited number of Treasuries. A person who gets a Treasury is called a curator. A curator must act quickly and can feature only 12 items (and 4 alternates) from the thousands available on Etsy.

It is such a thrill to find that someone likes your work enough to include it as one of their 12 items! During the past couple of weeks, I have blessed to have been chosen by five curators to be in six of their treasuries (Enchantedbeads got 2)!

The first photo is the Treasury of Scarfitup. She choose to feature my 3-D Dream Catcher. It is the first item on the first row. The owner of Scarfitup is a fiber and textile artist. Her work is sold in galleries in North Carolina and on Etsy. She does wonderful wearable art, purses, and home decor items. Her works are beautiful combinations of color, design, and texture. You must visit her shop! You can do so at this site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=15788

The second Treasury features my brightly colored beaded amulet bag. It is in the middle position of the first row. This Treasury was curated by Talentedlady. Talentedlady is from Santa Rosa, CA. She does magnificent fused glass jewelry and painted porcelain pieces. Her work is beautiful! If you want gorgeous color, one of a kind pieces, done by a skilled glass artist, then you will want to visit her shop at this cite: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=74612

The third Treasury was done by my dear friend Kathy. Kathy and I have been Etsy friends for several months. We share a love of beadweaving and southwest design. Kathy chose one of my Ghi-Goo-ie lapel pins for her Treasury. It is the last item on the bottom row of the Treasury. Kathy bead weaves beauty! If you need a lanyard for your identification card, a one of kind bracelet, a pair of beaded earrings or a gorgeous necklace to add to your fashion wardrobe, check out Kathy's store at this location: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5328183

The fourth and fifth Treasuries were curated by Ileana of Enchantedbeads. Ileana is member of the Etsy Beadweavers and has been supportive of my work since I joined that group. Ileana featured my Owl Earrings (top row center) in the fourth treasury photo and my Turquoise on Ice bracelet (First item, first row) in the fifth Treasury photo. Ileana is from New York. She not only does wonderful beadwoven jewelry of all types but also does beaded perfume bottles and boxes. She is one of the few people who have clip on earrings available. Her work is exquisite! Please check it out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5065568

The last photo is the Treasury of Rachelmira. She selected my beaded barrette for her treasury (last item on third row). She is a member of CCCOE and lives in Los Angeles, CA. This is a team of California artists. Rachelmira's shop features her wonderful metal work. She creates original molds for her cast metal pieces. Her designs are sure to please those who love metal jewelry. Most of work is in sterling silver; however she does do copper and gold work as well. To see her original, fresh designs please visit her store at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5567497

Good Things Come in Threes!

Last week I was featured in three Etsy treasuries and now I am in three more! It is always so exciting to have someone like your work enough to select it for their treasury! I am so honored!

The first treasury was done by my dear Etsy friend, Kathy Plepel. Kathy is a fellow beadweaver and lives in Phoenix, Arizona. I met Kathy online when I saw a bracelet she had made that I really loved. I contacted her to compliment her on it and we have been in constant communication since. We both belong to the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team and the Etsy Boomer's Street Team. When Kathy put this treasury together, she included my Native American Stretch Charm bracelet. It is in the center of the bottom row. If you love beadwork, you will not want to miss a visit to Kathy's store! She does wonderful southwest influenced bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Her latest creation is earrings made from guitar picks. Check out her wonderful items at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5328183

The second treasury was done by Zuda Gay. She is a fellow Etsy Boomer and we chat often on line. Zuda has been featured her before so her name may be familar to you from my blog. She included my chain mail Medicine Bundle bracelet in this recent treasury. It is the first item on the third row of the treasury photo. Zuda is a clay artist. She makes wonderful pendants, ACEO's, buttons, and necklaces. Her pendants are unique and gorgeous! To see her wonderful work, go to : http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5164311

The third treasury was done by AOS Leather. She chose my black and white Ghi-Goo-ie earrings for inclusion in her treasury. They can be seen in the middle of the second row. AOS Leather is in Rapid City, Michigan. As one would assume from the name, you will find wonderful hand made leather items in her store. Most of her work is Native American inspired. You will find medicine bags, belts, and wonderful gemstone necklaces. While we have not been at the same Pow Wows, she is a fellow Pow Wow vendor. You can see her wonderful work at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5515734

Mvto and Wa-do to Kathy, Zuda, and AOS Leather for featuring my work in your wonderful treasuries!