Sunday, November 26, 2006

Gathering Oyster Shells

It was a wonderful day when I gathered this oyster shell. I had taken our two dogs, the girls, for a walk to the bay. We lived in coastal Washington State and the ocean sky had painted a brilliant scarlet scene for us to walk under.

Many of the small buildings scattered along the steep banks are painted blue. I imagine that's due to our forefathers instinctual knowledge of color theory. Maybe that's true, because the shadows on those buildings glow thalo mysteries under the orange flamed sky. Even on the most oppressively overcast of days Gray's Harbor stood alive with color contrast. Rich, earthy browns and royal reds of moist wood on a pallet next to plants that scream yellow from the water hanging in the air filled my eyes -- so bright and so dark at the same time!

We'd stepped off the road a ways because I'd spotted logs piled in the water. They waited there for their turn in the cedar mill. Hoquiam ... the very name of the river means, "hungry for wood", in Native tongue. The fresh water river for which the town is named flowed passed my feet and into the salty incoming tide. One of those magickal places of in between here nor there was where I was standing. A bald eagle or osprey, I could not tell which, circled lazily above the distant hillside.

I breathed in the fresh air and felt as if the Goddess Herself were filling my lungs! As I stretched in the sunlight I caught a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. The girls had wandered down the bank to the waters edge. They too had been attracted to the pearly white piles along the shore. Like effigy mounds scattered among the rocks stacks of oyster shells sparkled in the sun. It was one of the most odd sights I'd ever seen. The dark logs pushed and shoved against each other like teeth chewing at the air, while the delicate looking shells bobbed here and there in the water as if they were little fairy boats. The jagged rocks along the bank, black and silver with wetness, seemed like predators waiting to pounce on the piles of oyster shell that had invaded their territory. There must have been thousands of shells! They were big too -- the nearest I estimated at ten to twelve inches long! The girls were having a good time chasing sea gulls, so I started to go to work.

It wasn't exactly easy to gather the shells. Tide was coming in fast. The water flowing in from the river mixed with the tide making it a bit like standing in a washing machine, and let us not forget the 75-100 large cedar logs that seemed intent on crushing my bones! The bank was steep and I had to use one hand to hold on to a scotch bloom root jutting out of the large basalt rocks. I marveled at my dogs who maneuvered the rough terrain with such ease! They had four feet to maneuver on whereas I occasionally had but one. I reached for a shell and hoisted it onto the top of the bank. I performed this move over and over again until my arm wore out. I climbed up and gazed upon my prize. Barking dogs woke me from my daze. The girls warned me of the approach of a stranger. A weather worn man with a face right off a box of Gordon's frozen fish walked up to me.

"Are you madd, girl" he exclaimed at me. "Them logs'll eatcha up if they gitta holda ya!"
"Well," I ventured, "These shells were just laying there and I couldn't bear to see them get crushed up -- they're so big. I've never seen oyster shells get so big."
"Yep," he said more relaxed, "don't see 'em that size just a layin' around too often. They brought in a deep sea one and cleaned 'er off right here. Gonna stink to high heaven for a month, it is!"

I assumed, rightly, that he meant a small deep sea-going vessel had pulled into this little inlet to scrape it's hull clean. Apparently it was a greater benefit to risk the mash of logs than it was to go to a proper place for cleaning. I don't know the details of the shipping industry well, but I was able to gather that the action here hadn't been exactly legal. The inlet sat close to the residential area. The smell of the rotting oysters and algae would soon be carried to the town. It was a shame all the way around.

"I'll tell ya what", the turned to me and said, "I promise you all the shells you can take if you promise me to keep otta them there logs. I woulda had go look fer the stink if you and yer dogs haddinta found it fer me. We'll take care of it from here."

With that he motioned to a pick-up truck of men I hadn't even seen. The noise from the crashing logs had covered the sound of the engine approach. They all worked for the lumber company and had been out scouting for illegal activity from foreign boats, unneeded hazards and such. Blessedly the company is very tolerant of peaceful trespassers, as we didn't know we were on timber company property. One of the men gave me a plastic bag from the truck so I could load up the shells I had rescued from below. The guys chuckled at me as I loaded my catch. They enjoyed the sight of a little girl loaded down with stinking, dirty shells. My knees were covered in sandy mud, as was my face I'm sure. With the bag nearly overflowing I gave a whistle for the girls who promptly ran to my side.

"Go on now and let us git our work done. Don't you worry about a thing, the treasure will still be here when ya come fer more." They all chuckled again as I waddled off with my prize.

It was a fair walk to get home with about ten pounds of calcium and mother of pearl in my arms. There were no roads most of the way so the girls were safe being off-leash. They're very well behaved. When we reached the house I discovered, thankfully, that my husband was not yet home from work. I set the bag on the kitchen floor and went to work myself. The shells had to be cleaned and sterilized before I could use them and it wasn't going to smell pretty.

A combination of methods, including lots of elbow grease, yielded shiny results. I had to take special care to preserve the delicate barnacles where I could. The thick green algae was a tough character to remove, I tell you! There were some lovely oyster cluster formations. One cluster of shells even had a bit of bright yellow rope seemingly growing right through the center! Oh, it was worth the effort though, for a crafty girl from Ohio to get her hands on a pile of Pacific art materials! I managed to get the mess cleaned, and myself, before my husband came home, but he was accustomed to expecting quirky things in the kitchen by now.

The next day I returned to the bay with my car. I had ropes and buckets -- everything I thought I might need to safely gather more shells. I hoped some good ones had survived the men's clean-up effort the day before. I parked. To my amazement they shells were piled neatly on the side of the little blue building. The weather worn man emerged from the other side. He greeted me warmly and looked with pride upon the near mountain of oyster shells.

"Think we saved ya a good many of 'em Miss," he said as he tipped his hat like a living cliche`.

It seems the shells only had to be removed from the water to avoid the odor issue. The smell mainly comes from the algae, I suppose. Once they dry a bit it dissipates. But left alone the algae would have gone crazy on the large amount of shells and buried the water surface. This causes environmental issue that are bad for the water and anything in it -- an imbalance, dis-ease. So the shells had to go away.

Those fine, nice men had been as careful as they could, with whatever equipment they use, in pulling out the shells. They liked the idea of the shells being used for something by me instead of just being crushed into the fill dirt, (the entire area is made of filled in false earth). It seemed more natural, he told me. I thought that was fairly ironic because we were standing in a place made by man but formed by nature. The very ground under my feet had been placed there by mankind and twice everyday the ocean tries to wash it away. The man helped me load up the back of my car with shells and a few large driftwood pieces I couldn't resist. Then I drove away thinking.

I had come to this part of the country thinking of man as the invader of nature, ready to rape what he could from the land. The history of the entire Pacific Northwest was made from natural resource industry of one sort or another. But I had seen the look of care in the eyes of those men I'd met. They weren't worried so much about the logs being alginated and rotting. They were concerned for the quality of the water. They understood on a deeper level than most that what we do affects where we do it. Birds, insects, fish and other aquatic creatures -- creatures we in many cases depend on as food -- live in those waters. Those men had a fine understanding of cause and effect. They didn't do their job because they wanted a paycheck only. The folks who work in such wild places are stewards of the land and sea. I drove away with more than crafting treasures. I drove back to town with a better understanding of humanity as a whole.

A quiet understanding of the place of mankind in the Pacific Northwest was creeping into my heart. For the time, that understanding sat next to the spotted owl -- the Greenpeace guru inside me wasn't ready to let go of the "us" and "them" attitude just yet. But I was one step closer to understanding how the people who work the special wild places are, in truth, stewards of both the land and sea. They use the resources, but must care for them too. There's more than job security involved -- it's pure love.



All art work images, unless otherwise credited, copyright Tree Pruitt. Text information may not be used for profit, copyrighted Tree Pruitt. Metaphysical suggestions are intended as entertainment only -- I/we make no claims as to the ability of the action of stones, spells or advise.
Information about hand painted Spiritkeepers ™ stones & shells by WWAO artist, Tree Pruitt.

Orca - Killer Whale - Spiritkeepers Shell


An actual Pacific ocean oyster shell hand painted with a playful orca, also known as killer whale and the wolf of the sea! This Spiritkeepers™ hangs on the wall by a hand shaped coated copper wire. Brass table top display stand available on request. See home site for purchase details. 5½ " long x 3" high(back of shell)

It was a wonderful day when I gathered this oyster shell. I had taken our two dogs, the girls, for a walk to the bay. We lived in coastal Washington State and the ocean sky had painted a brilliant scarlet scene for us to walk under. Many of the small buildings scattered along the steep banks are painted blue. I imagine that's due to our forefathers instinctual knowledge of color theory. Maybe that's true, because the shadows on those buildings glow thalo blue mysteries under the orange flamed sky. Even on the most oppressively overcast of days Gray's Harbor stood alive with color contrast. Rich, earthy browns and royal reds of moist wood on a pallet next to plants that scream yellow from the water hanging in the air filled my eyes -- so bright and so dark at the same time!

... read the entire story in the entry, "Gathering Oyster Shells".

Orca Sea Shell #SKo03, 5½ " long x 3" high



All art work images, unless otherwise credited, copyright Tree Pruitt. Text information may not be used for profit, copyrighted Tree Pruitt. Metaphysical suggestions are intended as entertainment only -- I/we make no claims as to the ability of the action of stones, spells or advise.
Information about hand painted Spiritkeepers ™ stones & shells by WWAO artist, Tree Pruitt.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Polar Bear Holed Pendant Stone

(SOLD)

A naturally holed stone with an adorable polar bear upon the front. Painted in acrylic and coated with heavy duty varathane. I'm pleased to say this Spiritkeepers has been voted into Art Wanted.com's Top Ten images numerous times. The stone is formed from silt deposit in the Cascade Mountain region of Washington State (USA). The natural color of stone is visable on the back side. The opening of hole is a near perfect circle and overall size is perfect for a pendant. About 2" inches at widest point. Excellent detail of this piece is hard to capture in a photo due to the slight pearled shimmer -- this is cute & unique! No pattern exists for this bear -- the image was found within the natural shape of the rock.



A naturally holed stone, or holey stone, is also known as the Witches Amulet. It is the most powerful protection amulet for the witch because it IS the presense of the Goddess Herself. The opening in the stone is the Sacred Womb of the Earth. When strung with a red string or ribbon and hung over the bed it acts as a shield against bad dreams -- much like the Native American dream catcher. A holey stone may also be used for Full Moon magic by gazing at the moon through the hole.

The bear is a symbol for Earth energies, as they tend to travel the depths of caves and burrow deep in ground to hibernate. According to Ted Andrews in, "Animal Speaks", (Llewllyn Publications), bear medicine can teach you to go deep within so that you can make your choices and decisions from a position of power.



All art work images, unless otherwise credited, copyright Tree Pruitt. Text information may not be used for profit, copyrighted Tree Pruitt. Metaphysical suggestions are intended as entertainment only -- I/we make no claims as to the ability of the action of stones, spells or advise.
Information about hand painted Spiritkeepers ™ stones & shells by WWAO artist, Tree Pruitt.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Grizzly Bear Holey Stone Amulet

A naturally holed stone, made from silt deposit from the Cascade Mountain region of Washington State (USA), with a hand painted grizzly bear curled up. The small 3 inch by 2 inch stone has an unusual bump that creates a 3-D effect to the bears head! The natural hole is covered in this photo by the red ribbon. Painted in acrylic and coated with heavy duty varathane. The back of this rock was signed with only the words "Earth Blessings" and shows the natural color of the rock. No pattern exists for this bear, so it a one of a kind -- the image was found within the stone. You can read comments from other artists about this stone in my fine art portfolio. This Spiritkeepers stone now resides in a private collection.

A naturally holed stone, or holey stone, is also known as the Witches Amulet. It is the most
powerful protection amulet for the witch because it IS the presence of the Goddess Herself. The
opening in the stone is the Sacred Womb of the Earth. When strung with a red string or ribbon and hung over the bed it acts as a shield against bad dreams -- much like the Native American dream catcher. A holey stone may also be used for Full Moon magic by gazing at the moon through the hole.
The bear on this hand painted rock is a symbol for Earth energies, as being a feminine symbol, the bear tends to travel the depths of caves and burrow deep in ground to hibernate.





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Spiritkeepers Blog 2005 Contents of Spiritkeepers blog text originally written by Tree Pruitt.

FAQ Spiritkeepers

What are Spiritkeepers? Who makes them and why? Find answers about these one of a kind, collectible, unique paintings on real natural stone. Learn totem or spirit guide animal messenger meanings from original text written by the artist. Spiritual symbol, mythology and deity figures, wildlife art, witches' amulets, fun pocket pals to ride in a medicine bag. 
 


*What are Spiritkeepers™?

Each Spiritkeepers is a unique expression inspired by the natural Spirit world. Designed from totem animal spirit guide meanings and symbols from mythology, they are created to be a personal amulet. The stones are generally pocket sized, and many are paperweight size or naturally holed... known as the Witches' Amulet or a Witches Dream Shield. Each rock (or sometimes sea shell) is hand selected by the artist, often based upon the spiritual energy felt within. The images are discovered within the natural surfaces and enhanced with quality paint. The artist never uses putty, fillers or cutting tools to change the natural shape of the stone for Spiritkeepers.

Since 1997 artist, and odd mystic type, Tree Pruitt has been marking her unique painted rocks as Spiritkeepers, though she'd always enjoyed painting "found" images from the surface of stone. The concept began as a way of spreading a little Spirit and love to her neighbors after having moved to a new place. Tree would do this by painting a small stone, stashing it in a tiny pouch, and then placing it in a mailbox or under a car windshield wiper of someone she hadn't yet met... signing the backs of each stone only as "Spiritkeepers" in the hopes that recipients would understand its good intentions. Later, friends and family began to ask Tree to paint their personal totem animals or a spiritual symbol to carry as a good luck charm. Because of this, and because nearly anything can be painted on a rock, Tree decided to limit Spiritkeepers to being only spirit-animals and spiritual themes.


What is this site?
This blog will serve as a catalog of my hand painted rocks past and present. Each stone comes from my personal rock collection and is gathered by myself either from nature or hand-picked purchased. I think of them as individuals and treat them respectfully as spiritual beings. Some stones may have been in my collection for up to thirty years before being painted! As of 2006 I began individually numbering them and signed them with the rune like symbol seen on the logo design to differentiate them from other peoples painted rocks; It's a true joy to happen upon someone who shows you something special from their pocket and you secretly discover it was you who painted it!


Why rocks and stones?
 I've always been stone crazy. As a small child I braved the hot summer sun for hours to remove my first fossil specimen; I still have that fossil too. I've also been an avid painter my entire life, so it was only natural for the two loves to combine. The stones I collected seemed to call out to me -- wanting to be picked up -- showing me pictures within the surfaces. I began to follow the lines I'd see on the rocks with paint strokes so that I could show others what I saw, at about the age of five. The pop culture craze of the Pet Rock that swept America in the later 1970's only served to encourage my feeling that stones are alive and do communicate. As my Earth based spirituality developed later in life it occurred to me these rocks have messages to share just like a spirit guide.
 In many Native cultures stones are believed to hold spirits. In the Native American Lakota Sweat Lodge Ceremony, known as the Inipi, heated stones are thought to be ancestral Grandfathers and thus given great respect. Ancient people went to great effort to place pictures on rock outcroppings and cave walls. Modern Neo-Pagan Wiccan practices encourage direct communication with nature and the exchange of energy with things in nature. I too feel that they are alive!
 Because I'm so anthropocentric in my treatment of the stones, it can sometimes hurt when it's time for them to go to new homes. They become like friends over time, but I feel as if I'm doing a spiritual duty of a sort when I'm called to paint a Spiritkeepers. Stones and rocks call out to me with a spiritual voice or energy vibration almost like a psychic sense. That sounds heavy and serious -- and it is -- but it's always great fun discovering the final image hidden inside these stones! Because I think of them as metaphysical, spiritual objects I only work on Spiritkeepers in a positive frame of mind and do my best to imbue them with positive energy. I only create Spiritkeepers when I feel I am called to do so, making them somewhat rare.
I am a serious artist and a serious mystic, but I never take anything too seriously... the energy of Divine Spirit often moves through laughter!

*Learn about the Spiritkeepers logo sigil that each stone is signed with upon being finished.

*What is a totem animal or spirit guide?

Click to learn about it.

*Where do you get the stones you use to make Spiritkeepers?

Each stone comes from my personal rock collection and is gathered by myself either from nature or hand-picked purchased.

I've collected rocks and minerals all of my life. It's almost as if I hear them call out to me. Some of the stones used for Spiritkeepers have been in my personal collection for up to thirty years! I've been known to travel often through out my life too and so have collected rocks from road sides and truck stops all over America. There are places to go on vacations where I could mine or pan for gems, and I did quite well! Some of the rocks were collected by other folks on vacations. Due to the location of my former home I could simply dig in my garden to find interesting fossils and stones. Through the years I've attended many rock and mineral shows to make purchases to add to my collection. I've scoured many a flea market and yard sale for that perfect find.
 I've never knowingly obtained stones from illegal methods. *If you go out collecting know that most state parks prohibit the collecting of fossil and plant specimens -- you can't take anything out that you didn't bring in really. It's also a no-no to pocket treasures from private property without getting permission.
 I once braved a lone bull in a pasture just to get a stone with a lovely shape! The owner stood by just in case, but he wouldn't go in after the stone for me; He thought I was nuts! Maybe so. :)

*How do you decide what to paint on a stone or rock?
I can have a general idea what I want to do at the start of one of these rock paintings, but I remain open to guidance -- from whatever the source -- and allow the images to evolve naturally. I often use the natural lines and bumps in the rock to create the picture on the stone, never filling in spaces with wood putty or other fillers. Sometimes the shape of the stone already looks like something. It could have the outline of an animal so clearly that anyone could see it. Or the lines on the surface may make a picture. I'll follow those lines with paint and sort of fill in the blanks. There are other times though where it seems as if the stone tells me what it wants to become. I may see the shape of a wolf and begin to paint one, but if the stone is whispering that it wants to become a cougar there's nothing I can seem to do to stop a cougar from emerging.

*How do rocks talk to you?
(Coming soon)

*How can I own a Spiritkeepers of my own?
I offer some Spiritkeepers at ArtistTree Studio store.

*Do you take special requests?
Yes I do. But please understand that this this is an individual process and may take some time. The individual stones dictate what images they will portray. I couldn't just pick up any old rock and paint a raven or a spider on it because someone said they'd like to have one. It is my belief that the stone tells me it has the energy of a raven totem inside it or I can see the image of a spider on the natural surface of the stone. If I don't have a stone on hand that matches the spiritual energy of your request all I can do is tell you so and then keep my eyes out for the right one. Contact me for more information.

*Can I have a portrait of my pet done as a Spiritkeepers?
No. I'm sorry, but the individual stone decides what it wants to become, in my mind. As fine artists my husband and myself are both willing to do more traditional pet portraits, but the stones are never treated as a merely a painting surface.


*All art work images, unless otherwise credited, copyright Tree Pruitt. Text information may not be used for profit, copyrighted Tree Pruitt. Metaphysical suggestions are intended as entertainment only -- I/we make no claims as to the ability of the action of stones or advise. Information about hand painted Spiritkeepers stones & shells by Tree Pruitt.