The concept direction in this project is, in more way than one way, a meditative map that uses mandalas to guide your way to higher a consciousness and a clear mind. Mandalas are a tool used in many cultures, including Native American, to help people find their spiritual path. They are used as a meditative ‘distraction’, where you focus on looking at, or creating a mandala with the intentions of what ever it is you’re trying to achieve, i.e. general happiness, and you focus on the designs, colors and beauty of the mandala until your mind is completely clear of anything besides 'happiness.' I chose to make the moccasins somewhat opposites in color schemes, and designs; keeping the blues to be a simple, fluid design to relay a calming feel, and the reds with a lot of movement to symbolize an energizing mindset, and overall, create a since of balance. The blue shoe has a 'seed of life' mandala, representating the basis of pretty much anything in life and its circular, geometric mapping. The red shoe takes the seed of life, expands it to a 'flower of life', maps specific overlapping points to find the 'tree of life', or Kabalah, which is an even more specific spiritual map symbolizing the journey your soul goes through to reach enlightenment. Overall these specific and intuitive mandalas were meditative in the process of making them, can be used every time you look at your feet, and were even put on moccasins as even more symbolism towards a journey and the meditative process of walking, especailly in many Native American cultures. 

Skills Practiced: Basics of Beaded Embrordery

 

For this broad collar, I was very much inspired by two things. The first thing was the my Native American culture, and the second comes with the fact that reaching the end of my schooling career, I find myself oftentimes homesick for Texas. So, inspired by the structures of Native American Breast Plates, I designed a three-panel necklace to be representative of something that reminds me of home. A monarch butterfly, a prickly pear cactus, and a bluebonnet, which are also all three state symbols of Texas. I thought this broad collar project would be perfect for my homesick content because the end product is to be worn around your neck, not only as something beautiful, but as protective and covering  of your heart, because home, is where the heart is. 

New Skills Practiced: Stacking Beads, Backing, Finnished Edging and Broad Collar Construction. 

 

For this final piece, I knew I wanted to keep with my theme inspired by Native American Culture. As soon as I ran into this decorative pipe, I knew it would be the perfect end to my series. We were given the option of beading with needle and thread or adhesive. As I had work the majority of this clas using needle and thread, I wanted to incorporate the adhesive techniques so I would have the chance to try something new. With my goals in mind, and after researching the traditional symbolism and use of the pipe in Native American culture, I worked intuitively and learned a lot in the process.

 

The Peace Pipe ceremony is a sacred ritual practiced to connect our physical and spiritual worlds together. Tobacco is used to conjoin the worlds because the plant’s roots go deep in the earth and its smoke rises high into the heavens. While the type of tobacco varies depending on particular tribal customs, they are all used in a similar manor. 

 

“The Pipe is a link between the earth and sky. Nothing is more sacred. The pipe is our prayers in physical form. Smoke becomes our words; it goes out, touches everything and becomes a part of all there is. There fire in the pipe is the same as the sun, which is the source of life.” 

Made with the intentions to support the Peace Pipe and further push its symbolic ties and using an experimental bead-adhesive technique resulting in an organic gradient of seed beads.