Ruby Tuesday 03/16/2010

Tuesday already. Seems like the week just flew right by. But what a week in terms of the landscape here in the North country. Last week, when I posted a photograph for Ruby Tuesday, I used a cardinal on the limbs of a cedar tree covered with hoar frost. Now, the snow is virtually gone. All that are left are the largest of the piles at the nether reaches of the mall parking lots and the occasional deep lying ditch protected from sunlight by the shadow of something. It's been above freezing every day and even most nights. Sunshine has ruled, with no rain for a number of days now.

In any event, here are a couple of pictures of some ruby color for you this week. The drum is propped up on a red leather sofa cushion with some of ole Sol spreading its warmth and light. This is a hand drum made from a cedar hoop covered with deer hide. The coloration is from dye made from walnut husks. The rawhide was wet and twisted into a ball and dipped into the solution of dye and cold water, like tie dye. This is the first drum I ever made and is now in the hands of a very good friend of mine from the Bad River Indian Reservation which sits at the South shore of the Great Lake Superior in extreme Northern Wisconsin.

You can read about this particular drum, its origins, and the story of its travels HERE. I will also include a YouTube Video Link of another drum I made for the son of my friend, Zach Hartley. In the video, Zack plays a drum I made at a Hand drum contest, held in 2008 at the Lac Courtes O'rielles Indian Reservation near Hayward, WI

Hand drum and beater on red leather sofa

The second photo is a dream catcher I made a few years ago. The wooden hoop, or frame, was a piece of buckthorn from an early Spring trip out to Rapid City. I was at a small pull-out along US Highway 14A, South of the town of Spearfish, SD. This scenic zig zagging drive winds through Spearfish Canyon, a beautiful roadway studded with pine trees and rocky cliffs. I saw this particular tree and its thick soft pliable green leafy shoots. I clipped one off and made a circular form. I tied the circle in place and placed it in the back window of the sedan until I got home.

Naturally shaped Dream Catcher with glass beads

Soon after, while walking around, I saw this piece of bone. I picked it up and brushed off the sand and dirt and placed that into the car as well. It was literally a couple of years later that I "married" the two of them into this Dream Catcher. I use glass beads as I weave for decoration. This one sported a ruby red bead. While looking through photo archives, I spotted the crimson spot and decided to include the photo in my Ruby Tuesday post for today.

So, here are my submissions. Ruby Tuesday is a meme event started by Mary T/The Teach who pens the Work of the Poet blog. To get the rules and parameters for participation in Ruby Tuesday, go HERE.

If you'd like more information about a drum or Dream Catcher for yourself or for a gift, you can check out this Archived Article from my blog, Round Circle, or send me an e-mail with your question or comment. My e-mail address is in my blogger profile.

Hope Springtime is a pleasant time where you are.

In the meantime, may Peace prevail on Earth