Before I tell you what I saw, I have to tell a little story. Being a white girl with blond hair and blue eyes, all of my life I was told that I am Scottish/Irish. What's to question about that? A few years ago my cousin learned that we are Dutch as well, our family has been in the US much longer than we thought and my sister found some lost family records that revealed that our great grandma was a half-breed Yakima Indian! This would be during Victorian times that our great, great grandpa married an Indian. Who knew? Guess the family did not talk about it much in those days, but we are honored!!!! What a cool revelation. My sister, an artist and a lifetime collector of antique Northwestern Indian baskets is thrilled. Me, an artist as well... I learned to weave baskets when I was 20, gathering local leaves and twigs. I am a passionate horse person and I collect vintage Southwestern Jewelry, which in turn lead to me being a vintage jewelry dealer with a heavy leaning towards everything Indian. My office is decorated with spiritual Mexican and American Folk art because it makes me feel good. The colors, the textures, the hands, the art of it all! Every piece of hand wrought Native American jewelry is so special to me. The file marks in the silver, placement of the stones and the way the cool smooth silver feels on my body, it is extraordinary.
So, when I look at a piece of Native work, I see the influences, the ROOT OF THE BEAUTY. I see the inspiration for design. And, last night as I looked at that photo, in my mind's eye I saw the perfect way to share with you what I see when I look at this amazing work. So here it is. Do you see it too?
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