It's a Little Bear

I was doing little clay sculptures one night (when they're done I'll post them as well) and any time I went to do a bear...it started to look like something else instead.  And while that can happen with paint...I have more play room than with a chunk of clay that wants to be a badger or a frog.

Feather Earrings!

While the painted earrings are a lot of fun, it's very trying on my patience to do a nice set.  So I figured I'd just try my hand at some simpler styles.

The single feathers were easy enough, and then I found a way to make some really nice ones with double strands of beads.  Some of them have semi-precious stones, and some are just beads and shell.  But they make me really happy.  And a shout out to my mother for finding me feathers and beads that are beautiful to work with.  Thanks mom!

The Mystery of Owls

There's always mixed feelings about owls.  They're shrouded in mystery, superstition and linger around death.  It's often said that if you hear a screech owl calling outside your home, someone close to you is fated to die.  Most spooky of all the owls seem to be the barn owl.  It's snowy white face, almost reminiscent of a ghostly human face.  Their call sounds like a screaming spectral woman in fury or fanatical sorrow.  When someone infringed on their hunting grounds as they camp huddled around the campfire, they'll swoop down after crying out, stopping just short of the unsuspecting camper's face and shooting soundlessly up again; leaving the camper hit with the wind of it's powerful wings going through them.

Detail

They're said to be the boarder between the spirit world and the material world; their large, dark eyes peering into the unseen just as easily as they witness the obvious.  I think for this reason, is why they are more intimidating to those who see mystery and magic as something to be feared.  For those that are afraid of the shadows, the owl poses a threat to that fear, and will tear it down if they would only allow it to.  Death is not something to be feared behind mystery and shadows, but a natural part of life that should be accepted just as sorrow and joy and anger and accomplishment.

Large amethyst and tiger's eye chips attached to the feather shaft