Dreamcatcher #1371-Sheep Horn- Earth Art

Description

This dreamcatcher features a large sheep horn that hangs freely in the center of the web. The horn has been intricately drilled and woven with a bit of webbing and some antique shell seed beads along the inner edge. It is also decorated with leather trim, rooster feathers, and bits of turquoise, amber, and bison bone. The hanging loop is braided leather, the web is imitation sinew.
This large piece measures approx. 28" long including the hanging loop; and the wheel is approx 18" in diameter. The horn is about 8" long and 6" deep. Because of the width of the horn, this dreamcatcher cannot hang against a wall but needs a few inches clearance so the horn can spin freely.
This dreamcatcher features a genuine goat skull that has been decorated with leather and an agate cabochon. The hoop is bittersweet vine and the web is imitation sinew. Guinea fowl feathers hang at the bottom. It hangs approx. 24" from the top of the leather thongs loop to the bottom of the lowest feather;  the wheel is approx. 12" in diameter and the skull is approx. 7" long.
A Native American dreamcatcher traditionally hangs over a person while he/she sleeps. It catches bad dreams in its web, while letting good dreams filter through. A medicine wheel is a personal object that gives one strength, power, and protection.
My inspiration comes from my love of nature and from the cultures and regions I have visited on my travels to the seven continents and to many remote islands around the world. My artwork is created with vines, roots, branches, and other natural objects that I collect from the woods and beach near my home in New Hampshire. I also decorate my pieces with found or repurposed objects, or sometimes with items I’ve brought back from my travels. Most of the bones I use are found in the woods, given to me by friends who know I use them in my art; I sometimes buy bones from a forest ranger who maintains hiking trails in a national park. Occasionally I salvage roadkill and bury it in my garden for a year to let Mother Earth clean it.
My art embraces the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi: finding beauty in imperfection. When I walk outdoors, I see art in a broken branch covered in moss, in a weathered bone, in a twisted vine or a gnarled root, in a piece of driftwood, in a fallen leaf or sea-worn shell. The natural shapes of the materials I use influence my process of construction and design. I let the treasures of the Earth speak to me.