Talismans:

Talismans have existed as long as hands have known how to gather. In nearly every culture, people shaped the materials around them into objects of protection, devotion, and remembrance. Bone, bead, wood, metal, thread. What was found became what was carried.

To craft a talisman is to enter into relationship with material. It is slow work. It asks attention. It asks listening. These pieces are not mass produced. They are formed slowly, assembled with care, and meant to be lived with.

My pieces are built from elements of the land, beadwork traditions, salvaged fragments, fiber, and small symbolic forms. They are assembled by hand and guided by season, symbol, and story. Each one is different because it follows the energy of what is available and what wants to become.

These objects are not decorative alone. They are meant to be held, hung, worn, danced with, placed on an altar, kept near a doorway, carried through change, etc. Each talisman is unique and may take the form of a prayer feather, walking stick, ritual staff, hanging mobile, chime, or leather medicine bag. (Form is always taking on different shapes at the Native Movement Studio.)

A talisman is not finished when it leaves the studio. It completes itself in relationship with its keeper.