Intention Sticks...or Prayer Sticks..

Last week in my Medicine ARt Group, we made Intention sticks, which are in some ways like talking sticks, but the focus is on making a three dimesnional talisman, that is a visual reminder, or fetish piece to bind to you, and the intention that you set,  for your life or your future.  

                                                               Take Time For Me

I have always been drawn to creating tangible vision pieces and the summer felt like a good time to create these organic sculptural pieces.    So here are some photos, of the ones we  made last Friday.

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All over the world, people make objects to hold and send their prayers. There are special ceremonies found in ancient cultures and practiced today, that involve the construction of ‘holders and senders’ of prayers from natural materials.Prayer carriers have many names such as Bahos (Hopi), Lung ta (Tibet), Prayer Flags, Ikupasuy or Prayer Sticks, Prayer Bundles, Prayer Trees and so on.

 There really is something very satisfying about this process, holding the stick in ones hands, and wrapping, is soothing, meditative and in a way fulfilling.

Prayer Sticks are considered a vehicle through which we can communicate to the gods. Its artful and creative manufacture was a major concern; hours of thought and energy went into making a Prayer Stick.

Prayer Sticks with feathers attached as offerings to the spirits, were largely used by the Pueblo Indians. Pueblo Prayer Sticks are usually made of cottonwood about seven inches long, and vary in shape, colour, and the feather attached, according to the nature of the petitions, and the person praying.

The prayer energy is offered into the creation of our Prayer Sticks by thinking good thoughts, or healing thoughts, or thoughts of forgiveness, or whatever our reason for offering the prayers may be. All must be done with the very best intentions.

Here is Marcella  in the studio, with her Intention Stick.

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• Our Process 
• we gathered sticks, wrote or painted intentions on them,  or on strips of raffia or paper and glued or wrapped those onto the sticks binding them through the our movements to the sticks..
•  Next we added paint..
• We then, wrapped fibers, yarn, copper wire, string and or raffia around the intentions,
• After that, we added beads, feathers, charms and any number of interesting adornments to the sticks..

At on one of the next times that  we meet, we will begin making pocket shrines and see where that takes us.  I love to watch what emerges for everyone in this group and also I love connecting with the women in the group, and doing art with them.  What a blessing.
Until next time.