Artist Tim Jennings brings home the Blue Ribbon for his presentation of “Ta Tanga Ax Dog”, “Runs with Buffalo”. The Western Design Conference is held each year here in Jackson Hole and it features some of the finest western designers in the world. This is the second award Tim Jennings has received in four years in recognition of his art. Below is the story behind this unique one-of-a-kind piece.
Art presented at the WDC must be fully functional and crafted by the artist themselves. This is the first time Tim has presented one of his award winning Native American Styled flutes with a functional stand that also doubles as a sculpture. Both flute and stand were hand crafted over many hours from reclaimed Old Growth Black Walnut. Harvested from the eastern slopes of the Colorado Rockies – these walnut trees made their way west in the backs of covered wagons during the Oregon Trail days in the 1840’s & 50’s. They were planted around the farms and ranches in Boulder Colorado.
Please read the story below that was the genesis for this work of art. This piece is available for purchase and if interested please contact Timothy Jennings at timjen333@gmail.com or call him at (307) 690-0427. If you like what you see please leave a comment or two.
Runs With Buffalo
Native American Styled Flute & Sculptured Stand
“Ta Tanga Ax Dog”
(Assiniboine Translation, Fort Belknap, Montana)
Buffalo Running – “boy-shahn doo-wyn ching”
(Shoshone Translation, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming)
“Buffalo” Translations
In Assiniboine (Nakota Sioux)
“Ta Tanga”
In Lakota (Lakota Sioux)
“Tatanka”
In Shoshone (Wind River – Fort Hall Dialect)
“Bozheenai”
The importance of the North American Bison to the Plains Indians cannot be understated. Once measured in the millions, the North American Bison (Plains Bison) was hunted almost to complete extinction in the mid 1880’s. The intent was to remove the indians from the territories while at the same time eliminate potential hazards caused by large herds to the railroad which would soon occupy this land.
This presentation is titled “Runs With Buffalo”. Run’s With Buffalo is a tribute to this magnificent animal that has remained sacred to the Native American’s and today still roams free within the Yellowstone Basin here in Wyoming. The Native American Styled Flute presented within this functional sculpture is a tribute to the Plains Indians that still occupy many of the lands here in Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. The buffalo fetish, or totem that sits on top of this flute is my vision of this majestic animal as it presents itself here in our native lands that surround Jackson Hole. An attempt to blend the literal while at the same time preserving the whimsical vision I see when I am present with these ancient animals throughout the year.
The functional Flute Stand Sculpture is hand carved from a single piece of Black Walnut trunk harvested from old growth walnut trees found on the eastern slopes of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Not indigenous to this part of Colorado, these trees were originally brought to the area around Boulder Colorado via the Oregon Trail many generations ago. Hand selected, this crotch piece of wood blends the whiter sapwood with the darker traditional black walnut coloring which are the results of two separate branches coming together. The two branches coming together represents to me the blending of the fetish and the flute into a single wind instrument completing my vision for this piece.
This fully functional six hole flute was handcrafted from the very same old growth black walnut harvested from this same part of Colorado. Featuring the whimsical buffalo fetish with leather accents cut from a hand selected buffalo hides. The stone work is a single cabochon crafted from Canadian Jade and bezel set in .999 Silver. Voiced at the foot of the Teton’s this flute is tuned to the Key of E at 432 Hz (the healing frequency). This 1 inch bored flute breathes in a deep healing tone.
“Runs With Buffalo”, “Ta Tanga Ax Dog” is a one of a kind piece that brings together the spirit of the plains indians art of sound with the ghosts of the sacred buffalo that once roamed the great plains areas unobstructed and was truly the life’s blood of the Plains Indian People.
Artist – Timothy Jennings, Jackson, Wyoming
This piece is Available. Commissions Available.
