Spirit of the Deer

I'm in the process of making a series of quilled medallions of animals that are traditionally significant. I was inspired by a story I was told by my elder and how we honor the sacrifice the deer makes so we can thrive. This medallion is made of many deer parts including the hide that the medallion is backed with, the ligaments that is turned into sinew that the necklace is strung with, the antler beads on the necklace, and the tail hair cones on the bottom because we make sure to utilize the whole after receiving the gift of a deer. I hand dyed the porcupine quills before I wove them into a pattern I created based on a photo of a deer and its tracks. I wanted to make the deer more realistic in comparison to old school quillwork. Overall this medallion is a storytelling piece meant to honor the spirit of the deer.

Media/Materials