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Weaving and Spider Medicine

4/24/2017

12 Comments

 
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Fish, Fish! She Got Her Wish" - mixed media on reclaimed wood, 34" x 20".  Ready to hang.  Available at Ciel Gallery in June during the "Wisdom of Wild Things" show.  Inquiries: [email protected]

On Friday, I had the most magnificent artist date.  A spontaneous decision to take a "dream catcher" class at World & Eye with Rick McBride, a mixed blood Tsalagi (Cherokee) teacher, became a magical afternoon.
​

We learned weaving with sinew, paying attention to the messages of the spider and spider medicine.  Beginning with metal hoops and moving up to natural wood and vine, our fingers cramping with holding the tension and simultaneously contemplating spacing and placement and pattern, we wove our pasts into wisdom for the future.  Our teacher was patient, encouraging and calm, quietly sharing stories of dream catchers, drums, beads, feathers and bone.
mixedblood.infoThree hours passed quickly.  Rick's small parrot eyed us warily from his shoulder, quietly nibbling on whatever was within reach.  Rick produced a box of feathers - tropical, wild turkey, waterfowl and songbirds - and offered us its contents, which we were delighted to split amongst the three of us.

Spider medicine is about creativity.  It is also about weaving your life into one whole - processing the past, taking its wisdom and moving on to the future.  Spider (a feminine energy) allows us to view things from multiple viewpoints.  She also teaches patience, as I learned unraveling a first attempt on the metal hoop and re-weaving it to improve my skills.  The dream catcher "catches" your good dreams and allows them to trickle down into the feathers for safekeeping.  The nightmares are captured in the weaving, and evaporate in the light of day like morning dew on a spider's web.

The photo is of my final weaving, finished late into the night once I returned home from the workshop.  The beads are remnants of a trip to Thailand, and the weaving itself a type of lotus pattern.  Spider medicine in my sacred space.  I wonder where this will lead me next?


If you're interested in the workshops of  Rick McBride, follow him on Meetup here.  Learn more about medicine wheels, drums and other Native American teachings on Rick's website here.
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12 Comments
Carol Edan link
4/24/2017 10:42:23 am

First email notification.Yay!!! WOW what a great dream catcher!!! Love that beautiful fish. The curves and the colors.... is that a pipe? Hope he's not for dinner!

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jen
4/24/2017 01:04:11 pm

Thanks, Carol! Good to know mailchimp works!!!! Thanks...fishy makes me happy. Those are her arms holding him...but I like the idea of a ceremonial pipe! ha ha! And no, magical koi is never for dinner. Just for snuggling. :)

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Dotty Seiter link
4/24/2017 01:38:56 pm

the horizon line of she-got-her-wish's hair, echoed in her skinny skinny magical pipe arms; the translucence of the koi's scales (just like in my backyard pond!); the textured dress fabric—stunning! captivating!

and your dream catcher nightmare evaporator—a wordless jenexpression!

and your words—storytelling genius!

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jen
4/24/2017 01:55:14 pm

Dotty! You always make me smile! Thank you, sweet lady. The koi's translucence is courtesy of rice paper layered over paint, which is an effect I will use again in the future. :) "jenexpression"!!! love.

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Melissa Vlahos link
4/24/2017 11:54:51 pm

Great blog post! I love how perfectly you described the workshop. It was a great time indeed. Your dream catcher turned out wonderful! I still need to add my feathers.

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jen
4/25/2017 07:11:07 am

Thanks so much, Melissa! And thank you for posting the meetup...I never would have known otherwise! Looking forward to making a drum on May 19th! Are you in?

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Patricia L. Brooks
4/25/2017 07:41:04 am

Your piece is "translucent " gorgeousness, Jen👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻‼️‼️‼️Your beautiful dream catcher should catch ANYTHING less than a FUN dream in that L💓VELY spider web that you have woven. And your selection of dark, white and WILD feathers should keep you in good stead moving forward - - as you ALWAYS seem to be👍👍👍🤗🤗🤗‼️‼️‼️What a FABULOUS artist date💓💓💓👍👍👍‼️‼️‼️I hope that we can share one , one of these days👍👍👍‼️‼️‼️

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jen
4/25/2017 07:59:38 am

Pat! Thank you so much!!! Would love an artist date with you any time! Let me know if you want to make a dreamcatcher, because I would totally do that class again. :)

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Rick link
4/25/2017 09:04:53 am

Thank you for your kind words, Jen. Your dreamcatcher turned out quite beautiful, especially for your first. You will only get better and more creative as Iktomi (Spider) teaches you and inspires you. Speedy says "Howdy!" Be well -- see you May 19.

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jen
4/25/2017 01:39:01 pm

Iktomi! Thank you for the word, Rick. Very excited to keep weaving and see what lessons there are for me there. Looking forward to drum-building and seeing Speedy again!

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cindy
4/25/2017 11:13:05 am

I really enjoyed the dream catcher workshop. The time did go by fast. On to drum and rattle making.
Your dream catcher is awesome and the picture of the fish is a lot of fun

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jen
4/25/2017 01:39:52 pm

Hi Cindy! Thanks for checking out my blog, and for your feedback on my artwork. Cannot WAIT to build a drum!!! See you in May!

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Here's the blue wild, where
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(by poet Mary W. Cox)
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  • Home
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  • Exhibits
    • The Downside of Lycanthropy
    • A Song for the Hunted
    • The Wild God
    • NUDGE - SHOVE
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