Serenity Rattle
I'm a member of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe outside of Richmond, VA. And the historic John White watercolors that archived the peoples of VA in the 1500's have always fascinated me. Priests were portrayed with their gourd rattles in ceremonial dances, their objective was to advise the chief and elders. My contemporary interpretation of ceremonial rattles is that we are autonomous, and we all enjoy using a well crafted rattle. My pieces are unique works of art that should be handled, so hopefully they create a moment of soothing sound in addition to fitting perfectly in the palm of your hand when at rest.
Spirit Sculpture
Prior to the arrival of the Europeans in central and coastal VA, there was no concept of heaven in the indigenous cultures. When you died, your spirit was called back into the ancestral collective that resided in the forest. You still existed if your community still talked of you. And the collective aided the community by placing signs for hunting and food gathering. My Spirit Sculptures represent the ancestral lands with the beings, animals, plant life, and environment that are a part of life. Depending on my practice, a spirit sculpture can have one, two, or even three rattles built into internal areas of the piece. Louder sounds represent ancestral voices who have recently passed. The softer sounds represent the voices that are quietly becoming less dominate.