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
Crafted from hand quarried Sacred Minnesota Catlinite stone (Sacred Pipe Stone). Handmade by Wyoming Artist Timothy N. Jennings. This Wyoming Soul Pendant was crafted from a single piece of Sacred Catlinite Stone.
Like most of our Catlinite jewelry this pendent was crafted from the remnants from one of Tim’s past pipe commissions. Tim never throws any of the stone remnants out and instead re-purposes them into pendants, cabochons, beads and other jewelry items.
Blessed at the Base of the Tetons
The Native American Communities have long considered this stone to be sacred to their people. Used for generations by many of the First Nations People, this hand quarried stone has been used for centuries in the crafting of personal and ceremonial pipes as well as other personal items. This handmade pendant like all of the pipestone Tim receives has been blessed at the base of the Teton Range here in the Yellowstone Basin of Wyoming.
More than a Pendant
The genesis of this piece came while shaping an earlier cabochon that was later bezel set in sterling silver and inlaid into one of Tim’s flute commissions. Tim found himself handling a flattened piece of stone and as he sat contemplating his next step of the project Tim was working on he found himself holding this flatten stone in his hand and rubbing it between his fingers more and more.
“The strange thing was the more I held the stone in my hand the more relaxed I seemed to be. This has happened many times and in fact I had kept this flat stone on my desk and from time to time I would pick it up and rub the stone while thinking about the task before me.”
Artist Timothy N Jennings
The First Nations People have long known that there was power within the stone. It has been demonstrated by the use of this stone for some of their most sacred ceremonial gatherings. As a pipe maker mentored many years ago by an Assiniboine Elder from Montana, Tim learned to respect this unusual stone used by so many for so long. Could there be more to it than just stories past down by many who came before us?
Wyoming Soul Stone Pendent
Tim made the first necklace or pendant for one of his children and since Tim still has his piece of flatten stone on his desk and he still picks it up regularly. Tim created this Wyoming Soul Stone to share with those who might appreciate the power within. When wearing this necklace simply reach up and rub the Soul Stone between your fingers. Feel the power of Mother Earth and accept the Blessings received from one of the most powerful places on earth… The Great Yellowstone Basin and the Teton Range.
The Pendant
The flatten stone is hand set onto a solid sterling silver backing and a sterling silver loop. The necklace is braided leather that features a sterling silver lobster clasp. Each Soul Pendant is handmade and no two are alike. This Soul Pendent is available now for purchase and ready to ship. The more you rub your stone the more the natural patina will shine. And maybe… just maybe some of your worries or inspirations will leave or rise from the ashes within…
Available for Commission – choose the type of necklace for your Soul Pendent. Leather, Silver, Gold… you choose.
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.
