This is a nice little pipe just finished and shipped out to it’s new home in Payson Arizona. There is a lovely story behind this pipe design but because of it’s personal nature lets just say it was for a special occasion. This pipe’s new owner is a wonderful lady that resides in Payson Arizona with her husband among the big blue skies that are found just below the Mogollon Rim.
Hand crafted from a piece of Catlinite (Sacred Pipestone) this pipe is smaller in stature with a woman’s hand in mind. The stem is crafted from Alaskan Yellow Cedar and feature hand cut Bison Lace with glass Crow Beads. The stands also crafted from Alaskan Yellow Cedar are of a new design that helps lift the art piece up off the surface for a simplistic display.
The stands have felt pads on the bottom feet to protect any surface and felt pads in the cradle of each stand to help protect the pipe and stem. Because this pipe was crafted for a women I chose to use lighter wood colors for the pipe stem and the stands and I believe it gives the project an overall feminine feel. It was an honor to have been selected as the artist to craft this pipe
I have started a new project which again is a very high honor for me to have been chosen as their pipemaker. I have received a new commission to build 7 pipes for 7 women who have been studying under Sequoyah-Blue Deer Eagle and Sandra Moon Dancer (Canadian First Nations People) for 4 years to as long as 9 years getting ready to become the pipe carriers for their respective clans.
“We are honoured to receive pipes from a master pipemaker, whose hands are guided by Spirit. It is with deep gratitude that we send this message.
Sequoyah-Blue Deer Eagle”
These woman have been studying the Mother Earth teachings that have been handed down for hundreds if not thousands of years by their ancestors. These seven woman will be honored in ceremony in 2017 with these pipes and take a very important role with their people.
I cannot emphasize enough how humbled and honoured I am to have been selected to complete this project. I am not Native but yet I have been selected for this sacred task and once again I will honor my commitment to the First Nations People of Canada to bring to them 7 pipes that will in turn bring honor to these woman and help them on their very important new journey that they will undertake early next year!
When I receive a commission for a custom pipe I always save just about every piece of pipestone from each pipe as I can always find uses for the remnants. This pipe was crafted from just that – remnants of stone from a previous commission. I personally like small pipes as they are easier to handle and when you want to have a smoke by the fire these are a great choice.
This pipe is actually a midsize personal pipe according to my way of thinking. The pipestone in this pipe shares a two-tone coloring with a real deep traditional pipestone red on the left side of the pipe and a lighter pinkish red on the right side of the pipe. There is a teepee effigy towards the back of the pipe and the left front side has an eagle’s head totem while the right side is a set of feathers.
The detail in this pipe is not as high as in commission pipes (seen eft) such as the eagle pipe I recently finished. But this is a pretty cool little pipe. The overall length of this pipe with stem is 21″ inches long and the stone itself is 4 3/4″ long. The tobacco bowl is 1/2″ in diameter and the depth of the bowl 1 5/8″ deep. If you are looking for a personal pipe that you can smoke with friends this would be a good choice.
This pipe is prices at $165.00 and it ships with a protective bag. Shipping on this pipe should be less than $10.00 depending on your zip code. If you are interested in this pipe or you have questions please reach out to me at “timjen333@gmail.com“.
The “Nakota” Souix (pronounced nah-KO-tah ) is the tribe’s name for themselves and may mean“friends” or “allies.” It comes from the Yankton word, Nakhota, sometimes translated as “alliance of friends.” another meaning for the name is “those who consider themselves kindred.”
Once I had accepted this commission which was and is a great honor, I knew I had an important task set before me. As I pondered the path I would take to craft the sacred pipe that was to be an Eagle pipe I for some reason decided to start two pipes at the same time, one of which is the pipe you see before you here and the other at the top of this post. It was made very clear to me the importance of the commission I was about to undertake and the very next day I started on the journey with great passion – a journey that would end with two pipes.
Tree of Peace Unity Walk Sacred Eagle Ceremonial Pipe Completed July 2016
The most important task was to complete the Tree of Unity Peace Walk pipe then I could focus on the second pipe to follow which I am calling “Anukasa and the Range – Nakhota, Alliance of Friends”. This eagle pipe will be seen by thousands of people at the upcoming Western Design Conference to be held this weekend here in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I am hoping to share a small glimpse into the world of the Sacred Pipe by way of display.
As many of you know I live in Jackson Hole Wyoming, home of the Teton Mountain Range, known worldwide. This powerful mountain range rises above the Teton Valley and it is the Southern Gateway into the Yellowstone Basin. Les Trois Tetons it is believed was the name given to the mountain range by the Iroquois or French Canadian trappers in the very early 1800’s. Since then these majestic peaks have been called by many names.
It is a very rare event that I trek north of Jackson Hole when I do not see one or more Bald Eagles soaring around the valley and into the base of these mountains. When you see the majesty of these magnificent birds and how they interact with Mother Earth and her ranges it is clear there is an Alliance of Friends or another way of saying it is Nakota or Nakhota which are names used to describe today’s Assiniboine First Nations People.
So why use this translation and not something else? Well truth be told all of the Sacred Pipestone I receive comes from a single family who are Assiniboine descendants and they live on the Assiniboine Reservations located in Northeastern Montana. Donovan Archambault is my Assiniboine Elder Mentor, a Master Pipe Maker in his own right. Each summer Donovan and younger parts of his family travel back to their ancestral region in Minnesota to hand quarry the sacred stone from Mother Earth. It is then hauled back from Minnesota to Montana where I gather stone that was hand quarried and allotted for me.
So it is in this spirit that I use the Name of the Nakota people and their indigenous language translation for the name “Eagle”. When you see these powerful and very sacred birds interact with the nature that surrounds us here in the Yellowstone Basin you can certainly grasp the Alliance that must take place between their very nature and Mother Earth in order for them to survive.
I always enjoy the opportunity to create something unique for a client. Kirk’s love for the pipe goes back to his childhood when his dad would work in their garage and smoke a pipe while he pondered his next move on whatever project he was tackling. Kirk wanted a simple yet functional Native Styled Pipe for his collection and personal use.
Although this was not a fancy pipe it is a perfect size for personal use. This personal pipe was crafted for Kirk who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. The pipestone I used for this personal pipe was actually the remnants from another eagle pipe I made a couple of years ago. I throw nothing out from the sacred pipestone and try to use as much of it as I can.
“I am writing to let you know how pleased I am with the Native American pipe you crafted. I provided no input of my expectations and am thrilled with the interpretation, design and workmanship of the pipe you created.
The wood working is perfect and pipe stone carving of the tee pee and feathers is spiritual and, to me, soulful. It is truly a work of art, but functions well as a working pipe. It draws well, has no problem staying lit and is a pleasure to smoke. When not being used, it is proudly displayed in a cabinet in my den, where it receives a lot of attention and compliments.
Thank you again.”
Kirk Jenkins
Exec. Vice President /Principal
Daum Commercial Real Estate Services
The pipe had carved into the long part of the stone 2 feathers, one on each side. An eagles head on one side and a representation of a tepee on the other. The pipestem was crafted from Old Growth Black Walnut that I gathered from the Eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain outside of Boulder Colorado.
The stem was decorated with hand cut bison hide lace, crow glass beads and an owl feather (replica) wrapped in traditional trade cloth and sinu. Over all this was a very cool little pipe and as I understand it the Kirk smokes it (tobacco only) twice each year on two special days that have meaning for the family.
I was honored that Kirk had come to me for this project. Kirk is a lifetime friend of mine and that made this commission even more special. He is one of the finest people I have ever known and I look forward to a time when we can smoke it together.
Each Fall here in Jackson Hole a Conference is held that is one of the elite places for Functional Art to be displayed, sold and judged. The Western Design Conference is the premier place for artists like myself to showcase their best art. This fall I will be entering one of my pieces to be juried and judged by the best of the best.
I have chosen the theme for my entry and I want to share with you my journey over the next few months. This years entry will consist of two art pieces incorporated into a single entry. This year I will enter a pipe and a flute with a common theme running through the whole piece. Below is a drawing I have made for the pipe that I will start today. The flute will also be started this weekend and this will be one of the toughest projects I will undertake.
Each art piece will have a custom-made bison leather case that will in their own right be beautiful components of the whole project. This Art project is available for purchase. Delivery will not be available until after the Western Design Conference has completed in early September. If you have interest in this project for your home or business reach out to me at “timjen333@gmail.com”. Follow me on this journey and see how it goes…
Although I have used my spare time for many years to build and create what I call Plains Influenced Art there just never seems to be enough time to accomplish all that I create in my head. Many who know me know that my primary career is that of an International Health Insurance Broker. It is in the down time from this career that I have endeavored to create my Art over the years.
Several times during the past years I have found myself engulfed in supplying others with the parts to make Native American Styled Flutes and other specialty lumbers. I love doing this and I love helping others but I do find myself short of time to do what it is I really want to do and that is to do my own art. That art now consists of crafting Flutes, Jewelry, Native Pipes and one of my first loves Photography.
Couple all this with having a family and three wonderful children I now find that I have NO time for myself. I want to re-focus my extra time to my art. JacksonHoleTim.com will now become the primary place where I will showcase my art. Hopefully I now will find time to finish so many of the projects that I want to craft and new ideas can percolate and come to fruition. I will continue to support the flute making world as best I can so please feel free to call upon me with any questions and should you need supplies check out what I have to offer on JacksonHoleTim.com.
The commissioned art pieces that I have worked on or I am currently working on give me the freedom to take some of my ideas and bring them to life for those who really like my work. There is nothing more satisfying than working with a customers vision and being able to hit the mark. Hopefully JacksonHoleTim.com will be the place where I can share with all of you what I have accomplished and a place to showcase the new. Please come back and visit as share with me some of the art I hope to bring to life for others.
I finally decided to add a new page to our website at Jacksonholetim.com which is the “Under Construction” page. I will add new information as it becomes available about new projects I am working on. Some are projects I have selected to complete for myself and when finished these projects will be available for purchase on our site.
Some of the posts will be for commissioned art that I am working on. Recently I had one person tell me that although they were Native American they had never seen a pipe made or pictures of the construction phase – they had only seen the finished product. I hope that many of you will follow the journey of one or more of these new projects. Feedback is always welcome good or bad….
The link for the Under Construction page can be found in both of our menu systems under the “Plains Influenced Art” menu links. Click Here to View Under Construction Page
In the past couple of day I received a phone call and was commissioned to craft a new Native Pipe that will be used later this year in a ceremony where the pipe is scheduled to be blessed at ceremony and given to a special recipient. The tribe who has commissioned this pipe is the Western Ojibway tribe from Ontario Canada. This is a real honor for me to have been selected by the elders to make this special pipe.
Many of you know that Peyton and I live in Jackson Hole most of the year and we now live south of Jackson Hole on the south side of the Snake River in an area call Hoback Junction. We are at the end of the road on 5 acres and the Snake River is about 100 yards to the north of our property.
This past weekend my wife headed into town for some errands an at the end of our driveway and along the Snake River there were two large male Bald Eagles sitting in some Cottonwood trees. She saw them immediately and stopped to watch them and they just looked at her as she got closer to them. They did not fly away like they normally will when approached. She stayed with them a few minutes and moved on.
When she told me this I knew I had to stop what I was doing and work on this pipe for as long as I could this weekend. I have been amazed at the progress as I have been able to completely rough out the design, I have attached the picture at the top of this post for you to look at. This looks to be a beautiful piece of stone and when all shaped it will carry the deep solid red color desired in a Catlinite Stone (als called Pipestone).
The Inspiration For This Commission
A few years ago I crafted a special pipe seen in the picture above. This pipe has never been smoked and it is stored with Sage inside the bowl. This pipe has a wonderful story behind it and it is one of my favorite pipes I have crafted. This very picture was found by some elders in the Ojibwa Nation and it was the genesis of the commission I am working on now. These types of projects are the absolute best to work on as they will in the end fill a very important role in someone’s life. I can only hope that my talents and craftsmanship will meet or even exceed their expectations.
I just wanted share the soon to be blessed stone as well as share a little of the story here. If you have questions or would like to reach out to me email me at “timjen333@gmail.com” or give me a call at (307) 690-0427. Have a blessed day!
