The design of this piece draws inspiration from a bracelet gifted to me by my husband in 2014, purchased in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The bracelet features a Thunderbird or Phoenix, both of which hold deep significance and are connected to Native American folklore. The Thunderbird is a widespread mythical creature in Native American mythology in the US and Canada.  A supernatural being, the thunderbird symbolizes the power and strength that protects humans from evil spirits.  The Phoenix is a mythical creature symbolizing longevity and immortality.  According to folklore the bird rises from the ashes after death creating itself anew. 

This deer skull belonged to an individual in a herd that frequented a neighborhood in north Fort Collins.  One day this young buck laid down in a tree sheltered area in my friends back yard and died.  He called me to ask if I could be willing to come and help him respectfully load up and take the body someplace where it would naturally decompose.  I was able to determine he likely had been hit by a car, a common story with deer who cohabitate with people in suburban areas. 

A beloved friend of mine lives on a ranch in Routt County and their family had a yak herd for a number of years.  This skull was from a bull in her family’s herd.  She also happened to be a world traveler and had the great honor of meeting the Dalai Lama in his home in the Kangra district in northern India where he lives in exile.  She asked if I would be willing to bead a skull honoring both the ancestral homeland the yaks, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and for the design to include both the eternal knot and the Om symbol, both important in Buddhist philosophy.  The eternal knot represents eternity, infinity and interconnectedness.  The Om symbol represents a sacred sound embodying the universe, consciousness and the connection between the individual and the design. 

This cow moose was hunted close to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Based on her good health and fitness at the time she was taken for meat, she had a good life and passed with a single shot.  The moose head mounts that get notoriety are typically the bulls on account of their impressive racks.  However, the future of the population relies on the females who grow and nurture the next generation.

This cow bison skull belonged to one of the early embryo recipients of the Laramie Foothills Conservation herd.  Her calves were some of the first members of this herd.  Several individuals from the herd were gifted to the Wind River Reservation in Laramie, WY, a designation determined by the Intertribal Buffalo Council.  I was honored to be invited to the ceremony to welcome the bison to the herd.  It was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.  During the drum circle and the blessing from the Shaman, several bison came close and stood at attention as if to receive the blessing. 

This is the cow skull that I found on that run around my local lake on the day I decided to learn this art form.  On that run I was pondering how I was going to find a skull – one with meaning.  Having taken a slightly different path, my path intersected with the tree on which this perfectly preserved skull hung. 

This was a private commission for my friend Dave who is a Grateful Dead loving musician and a hunter.  This 10-point buck was harvested by Dave and his brother Gary near Mt. Princeton not far from Buena Visa, Colorado.  I’ve come to believe the most humane way to consume meat is to allow an animal to live their wild and natural life and to be taken in a single expertly placed shot.  Both excellent marksman, Dave and Gary’s ritual for their hunts is always a clean shot, a prayer of gratitude and then to pack out all of the meat and process it themselves.