A Jewel in Wyoming
(Click on any picture for a larger view)
Cow Elk skull, Apache Tears center stones, freshwater pearls, metal disks, glass and metal seed beads
Approx. size – 18″L x 7″w x 6″d
A “Jewel in Wyoming” is a perfect example of the skull, or some unknown energy, actually leading me in the design and color choices. I had fully intended for this skull to be a soft mixtures of earth tones, along the lines of where this magnificent creature once lived. Every step of the way from the choice in paint colors for the actual skull, to the design, to the color choices of the beads led me away from my original intentions. Stranger still, the final colors are so far away from my natural palette – colors I would never have gravitated towards on my own.
I have often said that there is a residual spirit, or force, that remains with these skulls. I can’t explain it but I know it is true. The energy emitted from “Jewel” was a confident one. Perhaps this explains the color and design choices… perhaps Ms. “Jewel” was the elegant dame of her herd…
From the collection of Ms. Diana Holcomb
Epilogue – The story of “Jewel” became even sweeter after she had arrived at her true home with Diana. Diana and I have known each other for only about a year through our business association regarding skulls. We have only ever communicated via email and have never shared much in the way of personal information. I have seen only one picture of her and only the smallest glimpse of what I assumed was her home and the colors were in earth tones of greens and browns. Diana had sent me Jewel knowing that I was experimenting with restoration techniques and Jewel was badly damaged and missing large areas of jaw and nose structure. I knew the instant the skull came out of the box that her true home was back in Wyoming, so I repaired her and beaded her, all unbeknown to Diana. I shipped her off to Diana right before the holidays and worried about her reception as the colors were so very strong. I kept thinking “how is she going to incorporate such a vibrant skull into an earthy environment?”. I wasn’t home when Jewel arrived and Diana called me. She left me the most wonderful string of messages on all my phone numbers, along with an email. She was ecstatic and wondered how in the world did I know that she had one special room in her home that held a beautiful rug in the same colors as Jewel, but more special than that, Jewel had the same colors as a treasured quilt her mother had made for her that was hanging on the wall in that room! In the end, she couldn’t bear to not have Jewel where she could see her more often, so Jewel hangs, much loved, in the family great room.
But, the question remains… where are energy and memories stored? Was it Jewel who guided me in her design for herself, or for her Diana?…
