My students often ask me, how it all fits together, living and working within a shamanistic world view, being creative and making a living selling shamanistic art.... So I thought I let you in - a little - into the creative process:

Since about 15 years I create "Medicine Pieces" = large Medicine pouches, staffs, shields, wands, smudging fans, baskets to hold smudging supplies and a variety of other ritual objects.

Some of them are for sale through Bearpaw jewellery, (www.bearpawjewellery.com = our art business, others are created for personal use, for friends or are commission work. Each one however is unique and has its own personal story.

My latest creation is a large Medicine pouch , mainly white rabbit fur and this is its story:

I received the fur as gift for teachings given in a class about intuitive oracle readings.

Right away it was clear, that it would be most appropriate to create a pouch honoring the Spirit of the Goddess in her Spring manifestation as Ostara.

I also wanted the pay my respects to Kaltje', the Siberian Mother of Spring, melting snows and new life as well as her Guardian Animal, the Snowshoe Hare.

So I waited for the right sign, to begin my work. The sign appeared one April Morning, Thursday before Easter in the form of Kaltje' herself, sitting outside, in front of our wood pile! What a Surprise!

We rarely get to see the Snowshoe Hares when they change colours!

Inspired I started cutting the fur and sowing the pouch.

Then, late at night I took my drum and with a steady fast beat went on a trance journey to try and find Kaltje'. Emerging from the swirling tunnel of light and colors I found myself in a place at the mouth of a large cave, its entrance halfway overgrown with dry vines, bramble fallen rocks, barren branches from nearby shrubs. I adjusted my inner vision to the dim light and saw the dark brown ancient old Earth Goddess emerging from the depts of the cave. She was old, her voluptuous form sagging, breasts heavy and pendulous from nurturing all her children. But then, touched by the light outside the cave and right in front of me she changed into a young strapping maiden, breasts high, nipples pointy, belly flat, tights smooth and strong. Her body covered in strange petroglyphic images the likes of which I had never seen.

She lay down before me and I - in the trance vision - started to dance around her with my drum and then with a water pitcher and a feather on a reed as percussion instruments... When I stood above her head I also was amazed to realize, that her whole body was the head, face and ears of a Rabbit!

Flames emitted from her right leg and she melted away into the brown Earth below her, just to re-emerge as a profusion of fresh greens and spring flowers.....

Wouwwwwwwh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 .........................................................................................................................

The next day I strived to incorporate aspects of this powerful vision into the centre-piece for the pouch.

I cut the general shape of the Goddess out of copper sheet and etched all the chevrons I had seen onto her abdomen and wing-like arms.

I equipted her with a miniature water pitcher like the one from the vision - to represent the Element of Water.

She received a feather into the left hand - to honor the element of AIR

Her left leg is adorned with green jade beads and a hand carved wooden leaf to represent the element of Earth

The right leg symbolizes the Fire I saw spewing from it.

But turned on her head she reveals the secret of her origin: The face of the Rabbit Kaltje'

The little Earth Mother is surrounded by some of the Medicine Symbols I saw on the body of the Goddess during the vision. Drawing them, I was able to feel clearly, that most represent the mystery of Woman and the Power of transformation. 

I felt compelled to ad more drawings into the inlet:

Misacamigo-que, first Woman, giving birth, petroglyph from the Teaching Rocks north of Peterborough, Ontario and another depiction of her dancing the dance of Life.

The Rabbit Spirit Kaltje' known to the first Nations here in Ontario as Nanabush the Rabbit - man and trickster creator

Misquadei-she', Mother Earth the Turtle with her eggs = future

The mighty She -Bear - protectress of women, of child birth and of all small helpless young creatures

Into the center I tried to draw the young Earth Goddess dissolving into the living Earth...

Now it was time to decorate the pouch with feathers:

I selected speciffic feathers for the spiritual/ animistic significance of the bird it originated from:

Hawk = nobility, discernment, farsightedness

Crow = the dark Goddess, omens and auspicious signs

Heron = leadership, pragmatism, patience

Owl = Wisdom, change, detachment -

Barred Owl = the Power to see the unseen, detect illness and to heal

through ritual, dreams and trance

Pheasant = comfort, satisfaction, harmony

Turkey = giving thanks for the abundance provided by the Earth Mother

Ruffed Grouse - drumming, dancing, ceremonie, trance

Parrot - South, emotions, personal growth

White Swan - Soul life, love, beauty, good fortune is always bestowed by the Swan Maidens of Siberia, the daughters of Umai, the Earht Goddess. The Swan Maidens live in the Pleiades

Now I will have to try and ad a picture of this creation to this site. A close-up of the little Goddess is on my picture page.  :) 

And then all that remains to be done is to smudge and invocate the pouch come New Moon....

Then it will be alive, will be its own person and will find its speciffic owner!