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Treasures
of the Prairie. Things of Power -
Traditional Dakota / Lakota Art and Contemporary Artwork.
We work with the gifts of Mother Nature.
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| American Bison bone, Teeth, Elk and Deer Antler |
Bone
Our current pieces are made from
American bison jaw and leg bones. We prepare the bones without chemicals.
Prairie plants and tree bark are used to
clean, disinfect, and smudge the bone material.
Antler
Deer and elk antler
are part of jewelry, knife handles, buttons, sculptures, and many other uses.
Teeth, claws and other animal parts
Teeth: American bison
Claws: Porcupine
Dew claws: American bison, elk, deer
Hoofs: American bison, elk, deer, horse
Quills:porcupine, birds
Hides and Leather
We use rawhide from elk and American bison, brain-tanned/smoked deer
hide, and prime quality commercial deer leather.
On occasion we tan buffalo and deer hide ourselves.
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| Ammonite from South Dakota |
Stone
Stones are collected locally: sand stone of various colors, and iron ore.
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| Colored earth, as found in our area. |
Earth pigment paint
The earth pigments are partially from our land, in particular a beautiful
yellow. Monika names it Thunder Butte yellow. There is also a cinnamon red, and various other hues of red earth, found
in the Thunder Butte area.
Other earth
pigments are commercial, imported from Italy and Germany.
The painting medium is milk paint, or egg tempera, depending on the material we paint on.
Feathers
We
use only feathers allowed by law, like turkey, prairie chicken, pheasant, goose and duck.
Shells
Abalone and dentalium shells, shell heishi, and commercial shell beads are used in our artwork.
Beads
We use commercial, but exclusively genuine horn and bone pipe beads.
Glass beads are frequently found in our pieces. We also try to select unique trade beads, or old beads from treasure
troves.
Pyrography
Pyrography is a design technique we use on bone, wood and leather.
It is done with a wood burning pen.
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| Sage |
Plants
Prairie
grasses, soap weed, tree bark, and a variety of other plants are used in some of our creations.
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| Prickly Pear Cactus |
Wood
Chokecherry, willow, cottonwood, ash, cedar, and drift wood are our favorites.
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| Cotton Wood |
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