Wings Of Love

I decided to make another cage doll. This time it is a raven mother. In her cage are 4 of her young, safe and warm under her wings of love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kiviuq

   

According to Inuit legend, Kiviuq is an eternal wanderer. Spirits, giants, cannibals, bears and sea monsters intermingle in his world, creating havoc for him. But his supernatural powers allows him to overcome all obstacles in his travels across the north. He walks, or travels by dogsled or kayak. Inuit elders say that when Kivuiq's face turns solid stone the world will end. Currenrtly his face is half stone, it took about a 100 years. The elders believe that he is in his last life now and on adventure somewhere. However, before he dies he will return to see his people.

Saint Francis a santos cage doll

 

 

 

"St Francis" a Santos Cage doll

I have to decided to enter a doll making challenge from the magazine Art Doll Quarterly. The challenge is to make a "Santos Cage doll".The Santos dolls take their name from the Spanish word for Saint. Originally, Santos were created for use... as in-home altars. They were needed in small villages that did not have a priest, as well as for when it was not possible to travel to church. Often people would put their price possessions in the cage. These cage dolls have become very popular with doll collecters. Most cage dolls are decorated with angelic female figures, I decided to put a different spin on it. St Francis is know as the patron of all animals, He believed that nature itself was the mirror of God. He called all creatures his “brothers” and “sisters,” and even preached to the birds and supposedly persuaded a wolf to stop attacking some locals if they agreed to feed the wolf. Saint Francis invited all of creation – animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon – to give honor and praise to the Lord. The poor man of Assisi gives us striking witness that when we are at peace with God we are better able to devote ourselves to building up that peace with all creation which is inseparable from peace among all peoples."

 

                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

attached to this doll is a prayer by Albert Schweitzer: 

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked,
underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity
that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.

Chasing the lights in the sky

Something you might not know about me is that I am a junkie......an Aurora Junkie. One of the best things about living here in Alaska is being able to see the Northern Lights. And no matter how often I see them, I can't get enough. I spend many very cold nights waiting for them to appear. I realized recently that it is also a kind of therapy for me. It's my quiet time, my me time. We share our home with a very rowdy pack of dogs and some very loud and needy parrots. Most of my time is spend by taking care of them,our house can be very lively to say the least. Although I wouldn't trade it for anything, sometimes it is very nice to get away for a while and have some peace and quiet. I would like to share with you some of these amazing moments I have captured with my camera.

 

Raven stole the Sun.....

Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as a such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse.

When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and stars, and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen.

He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out.

Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.

Good Medicine

You can never have enough good medicine

My brother the star, my mother the earth
My father the sun, my sister the moon
To live give beauty, to my body give strenght
To my corn give goodness, to my house give peace
To my spirit give truth, to my elders give wisdom

(Native American prayer)       

Spirit of the Polar bear

The polar bears are very dear to my heart. I have always been fascinated by these magnificent creatures.
To raise awareness about the decline in their population but especially the threat to their environment I made this doll. I truly believe that somewhere out there, there really is a spirit that watches over them and protects them. We can not afford to loose these  beautiful animals to extinction.