In the gallery we have had some exciting happenings. In past newsletters I have featured the fine art of cast paper sculpting by local artists Allen and Patty Eckman. Their work is some of the most popular that we carry and continues to amaze both those who have seen it time and again and those who have never seen it before. Allen and Patty live here in Rapid City, SD and have been working and developing their own style and techniques in cast paper for around 20 years now. They make their own archival paper and their own molds to press the paper into. That is the casting process—they press their paper i! nto the mold, let it dry and when they take it out they've got their basic figure which they continue to build up and add all of the details to. Each piece ends up a three-dimensional, extremely detailed, very fine work of art.
I have chosen the Eckman's work to feature this month in particular because this is the perfect time and opportunity for us to unveil the brand new scene that they have been working on for 10 long months. This breathtaking new scene has just now been installed here in the Prairie Edge Fine Art Gallery to be viewed and sold. So without further adieu, I'll allow the Eckman's words to describe their fabulous and truly awesome new work.
"Prairie Edge Hunt" is the forth and latest in the series of this type of monumental cast-paper sculptures. It is 7 1/2' long by 5' high and 20" in relief. This piece represents a portrait of Native American life showing a Lakota buffalo hunt and jump on the edge of the prairie in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. As five mounted warriors bring down thirteen buffalo, five unsuspecting women and children are caught in the may lay. A mother is desperately trying to protect her baby in a cradleboard from the falling rocks caused by a charging buffalo bull up-heaving a mounted warrior on the rocks above them. The grandmother and young granddaughter beckon urgently to a very terrified young sister to join them in the protected crevice in order to avoid the stampeding buffalo. Details also include 2 startled Magpies, one on a nest with two eggs in a large ponderosa pine tree, several petroglyphs carved in the walls of the cliffs, 2 buffalo skulls and much more!
This new piece is totally action-packed and contains the infinite amount of detail that only the Eckmans can accomplish in the fine art medium of cast paper sculpture. Both the Eckmans and ourselves are very proud of this wonderful and exciting new work that was ten months in the making. If you are in the area or are going to be you simply must come see it for yourself. And as always we have a wide variety of sizes and price ranges of their other finely detailed paper sculptures on hand and on our website all the time. Have a great month as we finish off summer with a bang!
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Located in Spearfish, SD, Black Hills Honey Farm is proud to make only organic products that are guaranteed to fix many common ailments that people suffer from every day. They use raw honey, beeswax and propolis as a base in their salves, balms and lotions. Each and every product is 100% guaranteed to work and you can be sure that no synthetic fragrances, additives, isopropyl alcohol, benzene, mineral oil, sodium lareth sulfate, propylene glycol or aluminum is used.
Here at Prairie Edge, we carry six different types of salves and balms for many common ailments. Our most popular is our Arthritis Rub and our customers swear by its healing effects. The Arthritis Rub contains ginger, arnica, emu oil, peppers and rosemary to create a salve that relieves inflammation, reduces swelling and helps ease pain.
Our basic handsalve is great for healing dry and cracked hands. With the perfect blend of comfrey root, rosemary oil, propolis, aloe Vera and patchouli, this handsalve is a sure way to make your dry hands feel like new and the honey used is a natural antibacterial agent to keep the germs at bay.
For headaches minor or extreme, the Headache balm is a must have. Chamomile, lavender, peppermint and rosemary oil serve to not only relieve the pain of a nasty headache, but also calm and soothe the stress and anxiety that everyday living can bring. Relief from muscle aches is just one more benefit from this sweet smelling salve.
Anyone who has ever gotten a burn knows just how painful they can be, but thanks to the Black Hills Honey Farm, there is relief to be had. Only two ingredients are used in this powerful ointment, honey and propolis. The honey is a disinfectant agent and the propolis relieves pain as well as keeps down the inflammation. Since burns heal best when they are kept moist, the honey like texture of the salve is perfect for a quick and painless fix.
Just in time for cold and flu season, the Sinus Remedy is a must for every medicine cabinet. The balm contains eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender oils that work together to break up sinus and chest congestion and also relieve coughing. Every ingredient is crucial in alleviating the symptoms of the common chest cold.
Last but not least is the all-purpose Healing Salve. For anyone with dry, cracked, sagging or wrinkled skin, you can't go wrong with this salve. Ingredients include sage, patchouli oil, propolis and aloe are all equally important ingredients in keeping skin young, clean, soft and healthy.
So if going green and staying as healthy as you can is your goal, then Black Hills Honey Farm's line of salves and balms is for you. The products are ones that you can feel good about putting on your body and with reasonable prices, there is no reason you can't be pain free and feeling your best. So go green and we promise, you'll never go back!
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Being a world class souvenir hunter myself, I believe it has to do with our image. We want others to know about places we have been and things we have seen. We also like to be reminded how those events affected us which in turn honors those memories. Take a walk through the crowd at
When you think of a Native American warrior standing on the brink of battle, you might conjure up an image of a man with painted face, feathers in his hair, lance or bow in hand. While you would certainly take notice of these details, the one thing you might overlook is the shield he has slung across his back or on the side of his horse. If you were this man's enemy, you would definitely notice his shield.
Like the t-shirts and caps we buy today, the shield a warrior carried was a symbol of what he had experienced both physically and spiritually. In fact, due to its protective nature, the shield was considered such a powerful item that when a warrior decided to make one he drew upon the strengths of other warriors to help in the construction. When making a double cover shield, a warrior would recruit a small group of men whom he respected for various reasons that would then help the warrior find and kill a large buffalo bull. The qualities necessary for a buffalo to become a large herd bull; courage, strength and wisdom, were traits the warrior wished to posses, as well. The group would then prepare the hide, taken from the hump of the bull, over a pit of hot stones. When the shield was ready for decoration, the soft outer cover was created by the hunting party who assisted the warrior in the kill. They would adorn the cover with images representing qualities that they wished others to know about this particular warrior. They may have been symbols of great strength and power or perhaps symbols of strong medicine associated with healing or wisdom. The hard inner shell of the shield was adorned by the warrior himself. What he placed on the shield was deeply spiritual and was known only to himself and Wakan Tanka.
Although shields were created for a variety of reasons, not all of them being double covered, their main purpose was still protection and to promote an image of the bearer. For instance, the Black War Bonnet design holds meaning in its colors. Black, white and red combined in a circular war bonnet pattern portrays danger, intense spiritual devotion, the afterlife and walking the "Red Road"; living by a proper code of conduct. Combined with feathers and trade cloth on the sides which gave a visual reference to the wind spirit, this shield would obviously represent a warrior who was quick, strong and not afraid to die. Another fascinating design was the Red Hand print. A mark of ownership, this symbol was placed on the shield by the warrior when he had proven himself to be a good provider. He had also proven his bravery by counting coup (touching a live enemy in battle). Should you encounter an individual with this mark on his shield, you may consider just how accurate he was with his bow to provide so well for his family not to mention his willingness to confront you face to face on the battlefield. Symbolism on a shield was and is endless. The art of making shields has not been lost and still tells a story about the warriors of today, as well as, those of yesterday.
All of our shields can be viewed online at http://www.prairieedge.com Single and double cover shields can be found under the "Native Arts & Crafts" section, shield listing. Native American artists such as James Little Wounded and Evans Flammond, Sr. also specialize in shields and can be found under the "Native American Art" section. I also recommend our Prairie Edge Bookstore if you would like to learn more about the construction of shields or their history. Our Sioux Trading Post has rawhide, earth paints, imitation feathers and more if you wish to gather together your own hunting party and create one of these sacred circles of protection. If you are just not sure what to do with a shield, that's okay! Our Prairie Edge Trading and Native American Art Gallery have plenty of wonderful items for you to take home from
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Hello worthy readers and thanks for logging on and visiting our site. Heck's a poppin' in the
With all the good moisture we received this spring, the tinpsila (Indian turnips or prairie turnips) were plentiful this year and we have many nicely-braided strands of them in the store, all massed together into an impressive-looking bundle by the front of the shop.
This display never fails to elicit comments from curious customers who have never seen anything like it. Most folks ask if it's garlic, or if it's wood and then when told that it is a wild food, ask if it's indeed edible. When freshly gathered and braided, the tinpsila have an earthy, rooty aroma as enticing in its way as the visual appeal of the massed braids. Matthew and Eva Last Horse brought in several smaller braids this year (one-and-two-footers) so there is a nicely affordable selection from which to choose, whether a person wants them for decor or for making wohanpi (soup).
I was lucky enough to be able to go on a trial buying run over to the Wind River Reservation this spring and it was so good to see that beautiful Shoshone and Arapaho country. We met Glenda and Gloria and all the girls at the
Wanda (Spear) Brady came down from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation last month with some more colors of earth paint for us and her account of readying the paints for use was simply spellbinding. Enjoying an embarrassment of riches, we now have TWO blues in stock, as well as lavender and pink. The black paint is not a mineral pigment, but is specially prepared charcoal from certain trees. We are very proud to be able to offer this old-time product that has such a direct and immediate connection to prehistory.
Thank you again for the readership and for all your good energy. Come see us this summer if you are able and certainly let us hear from you if you can't come have a time with us. Do try to come by - we pride ourselves on the fact that in centrally-located
Pilamiye ka doksa ake from Michael.
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Good Day to all! It has been getting busy here in the bookstore with all of the school purchase orders that have been coming in. I want to give a big THANK YOU to all those who helped spread the word.
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