Mining New Mexico: Mica Mines and the Pottery that Glitters Like Gold, Part One

Alas, our time in the Land of Enchantment amounted to little more than an extended vacation; a month in Corrales and two more in Santa Fe before the lure of better work prospects drew us further west to Oakland, California. There is so much to see and do in New Mexico; we managed to get in several little adventures during our stay, but the possibilities for further exploration seem truly limitless there, if one's time allows. One brisk morning we headed north out of Santa Fe, Taos bound, to see what the day might bring.

We passed under a few highway overpasses embellished with images that reflect aspects of the local Pueblo culture:







and spied a monumental lithic dromedary (Camel rock!) gazing out over the expansive landscape:



We spent a few hours poking around Taos before heading north on U.S. 64 out of town towards the Rio Grande Gorge. Now that was a sight for which I had been totally unprepared. Having never visited the Grand Canyon, I can't compare the two, but as we approached the bridge that spans that gorge I could hardly believe my eyes. We parked and walked halfway across the bridge, where the view over that vast gorge was positively breathtaking! I had never heard anything about this place before, but I felt certain that what I was seeing must surely have been every bit as awe-inspiring as the Grand Canyon!



Eventually we made our way back to the car and, consulting our guide book, found that we were a reasonable distance from the town of Ojo Caliente, home of the famous hot mineral springs! Reckoning that a goodly hot soaking might be a fine way to conclude the day, we adjusted our course towards Ojo, and were there well before sundown.



The hot springs themselves were not quite the rustic, backcountry pools I had envisioned; a rather posh resort-like environment now envelopes the 4 original mineral pools, and an admission fee must be surrendered to gain access. As it turns out, admission is slightly discounted after 6 pm, so we decided to explore the area a bit until that time. A map available in the lobby indicates that hiking trails extend for several miles out behind the resort, leading to the ruins of a Tewa Indian pueblo on the mesa above the resort, and also to a few abandoned mica mines further out. The main path leading up to the lobby entrance continues out towards the trails:



The ruins above Ojo Caliente, called Posi Ouinge, are the remains of a thriving community inhabited by the Tewa people between around 1300 to early 1500 a.d.



People have been attracted to the healing waters of the hot springs for thousands of years; while the Tewa are believed to have relocated to other areas after a period of illness reduced their population, the Spanish took up residence in the area shortly thereafter.

To the untrained eye, there is little left to indicate that a city once stood here; time and erosion have erased most traces of walls and plazas. Look down, however, and the signs of human habitation are scattered everywhere in the form of broken bits of pottery.



Some pieces are colored, some bear remnants of vivid geometric designs, some are inscribed with neat rows of lines, and others are dull black, but glisten curiously in the sunlight. One of these latter pieces glistened so brightly I thought surely I had spotted a nugget of gold! Closer inspection revealed that tiny flecks of what appeared to be mica embedded in the fire-blackened clay of a pottery sherd were responsible for that golden flash.



Knowing that some old mica mines lay further out, I wondered if mica from the area had been worked into the clay for either decorative or utilitarian purposes. I took a few photos of the potsherds and then we hiked our way out towards the mica mines.

The mines weren't difficult to spot. We knew well in advance that we were on the right track, as the ground became increasingly sparkly with flakes of mica as we approached the shallow caves.









As we were walking towards the caves, eyes trained on the ground, my heart would skip a beat every time I spotted a chunk of mica larger than a quarter. Little did I know that the mines would yield massive sheets of mica the size of which I had never before seen.

Yes, I am putting those in my backpack; while collecting pottery sherds is strictly forbidden, I believe it is ok to collect some samples of the mica.

Thin, transparent sheets can be peeled off of the "books" of mica. Once, on a tour of Acoma Pueblo, I recall learning that the adobe-walled pueblos were fitted with windows created using sheets of mica; I had a hard time picturing it, since I had only ever seen little flakes of mica. The sheets we found could easily be trimmed into neat squares and secured in wooded frames, making perfectly serviceable windows!



Perhaps the pueblo people used sticky Piñon resin to seal up their mica windows? I couldn't help but stop to scoop up the fragrant resin that oozed from the many dead Piñon pine trees in the area, victims of the 2002- 2003 drought and heat wave that took quite a toll on New Mexico's Piñon population.





As the sun sank below the horizon, we realized that 6pm was nearly upon us; we hastily loaded up my mica and Piñon resin and made our way back down the trail towards the hot springs. The evening was cold and clear by the time we arrived; steam rolled off of the surface of the various mineral-rich springs as burning Piñon fires perfumed the air. My muscles ached from carrying back the heavy burden of mica samples I had collected, and it felt just grand to lay back in the hot water and look up at the steep wall of the mesa upon which the old Tewa village once stood; stars twinkling above. I felt privileged to have the opportunity to soak away my aches and pains as countless generations before me had done; I hope you have the opportunity to explore Ojo Caliente someday too!

A few days after visiting Ojo Caliente, a curious coincidence revealed all sorts exciting information about the glittery, mica-enriched pottery pieces I had noticed at the Posi Ouinge ruins. It turns out that "micaceous pottery" is well-known to archaeologists and aficionados of indigenous pottery, and soon I would find myself back on the road towards Ojo to meet up with a fellow who is well-known for transforming the local mica-rich clay into beautiful (and useable!) pieces of pottery! I hope you will check back soon for part two of the "Mica Mines and the Pottery that Glitters Like Gold" story!!!

June Projects: Charles W. Morgan, Eleggua, Peyote Rattle and More!!!

Although I have been working at the museums quite regularly of late, I am still finding time to work on some little projects here and there. Lest my patient readers begin to fear I've dropped off the face of the earth, I'll take a moment to share...

1. An old model of the whaler Charles W. Morgan that I had been meaning to assemble for at least the last year. I finally started on it, and am about 3/4 of the way through. I'll confess that I never had the patience for model building growing up, and still find the process supremely tedious. I made one other model of the US Navy hospital ship Haven a few years ago to display in my hospitalmuseum; I think the Charles Morgan may be my final foray into model building! This model won't be painted... I have another idea in mind that I will share as the project nears completion! Before getting started on the model, I drove down to Mystic Seaport, where the actual Charles Morgan is hauled out of the water for a major restoration, to get some inspiration:













The brick "tryworks" on deck, where blubber was boiled and rendered into oil.

The area below deck at the front of the ship called the "forecastle" where the majority of the crew members slept. Most of the props and bedding in the forecastle and throughout the rest of the ship have been stripped out for the duration of the restoration.

2. I have had a handful of bone choker tube beads laying around for a while; I combined them with some India glass trade beads and made a nice, simple Plains Indian-style choker. This may end up in the FinderMaker online shop when I start stocking it up, as I'm not generally one to leave the house done up in Native American-style regalia (if you were to infer that I am apt to parade around inside the house in Native American regalia, though, you might just be on to something!)

3. This is a replica of a wonderful coconut and cowrie shell Eleggua effigy I saw online . It was for sale, but was way out of my price range, and anyway it looked like a fun project to replicate at home! I'm not done with it yet; just need to find some colorful little feathers and a few other magical sundries to adorn it with!

4. I made one of these peyote ceremony rattles about a year ago, and, after running across an extra gourd I had purchased at a farmer's market last year, decided it was time to assemble another. I think this one has turned out beautifully so far; the feather and horsehair tip on this one is extra fancy! The next step will be to add the peyote-stitch beadwork over the white leather portions; I think the beadwork on this one will have several shades of green in it. I can't wait to share photos when it is done!

5. You are probably getting awfully tired of seeing this thing! I took the strip of lazy-stitch beadwork off of the front once again and re-did it in the pattern you see presently. I also replaced the earlier cobalt beads on the red sheepskin portion with old turquoise-colored glass trade beads, and affixed the abalone and tin-cone hair drops around the sides and back (I will do a complete post with photos of all of this when it is completed!) I chose some of the finest wild turkey feathers from the batch I found at Mount Hope Farm, and have wrapped and stitched red sheepskin around the base of each in preparation for affixing them to the top of the cap. I'm finally happy with the way that front beadwork strip looks, and will definitely be keeping it!

6. In fact, I liked the beadwork pattern I came up with for the cap above so much that I just kept going with it on my little bead loom... I guess I have a hatband now!

7. One of my earliest FinderMaker posts showed me crafting a replica of an old whaling harpoon. I had made examples of two of the predominant styles of hand-darted harpoons: the double-flue and toggle irons, and figured I should add the third common style, the single-flue iron, to complete the set. The baked fimo head has been epoxied onto the shaft, and the seam sanded smooth; now the shaft and head will be painted to resemble old metal, then affixed to the cedar pole that is all shaped, sanded and ready to receive it. This is a fun project to work on using readily available materials; if your collection of nautical artifacts could benefit from the addition of a real showpiece, I encourage you to go back and follow my how-to!

Thank you so much for sticking around... I regret that I've allowed so much time to lapse since my last post! I'll be sure to do updates as I complete these (and other!) projects. Thanks for joining me!!!

FinderMaker Trading Post

A warm welcome to you, friend! Please, tie your horse up right out front... there's plenty of good water in the trough there. Its nice and cool inside, so stay awhile and have a look at some finely crafted dry goods I'm quite sure you can't live without. Never mind these old mesquite floor boards... they squeek like a kangaroo rat hurling insults at a rattlesnake, but nobody's fallen through yet! Here are a few items I'm particularly fond of...

1) Travels in the Interiors of North America 1832-1834 Familiarize yourself with the appearance and customs of the folks who occupied this territory long before you or I rolled into town! $44.39

In 1832, looking to gather images and information about Native Americans and their customs, Maximillian Prince of Wied travelled with Swiss painter Karl Bodmer across North America; Wied's travel experiences were published in 1840, his text printed in two volumes, and 81 of Bodmers illustrations were published as a portfolio. Reprinted from a splendid hand - coloured copy of the publication still owned by the Wied family, 'Travels in the Interior of North America' is the first book to reproduce a complete original colour version. Focussing on many details in each plate, in depth text serves as a key to the customs, clothes and tools of the Native Americans.

2) Derringer in a Book. In these parts, a lone stagecoach traveling though some lonely canyon often presents an irresistible temptation to armed bandits; don't be caught off-guard! Tuck this treacherous tome into your gladstone before you set out and be prepared for the devils! $159.99

In the mid-1800's the Derringer was the gun of choice for anyone wanting an easily concealed, yet deadly firearm for personal protection. Our version, from renowned gun maker Davide Pedersoli, is a fully functional and faithful reproduction of a classic Belgian percussion pistol with removable .44-caliber, rifled barrel and folding trigger. Concealed in its own padded book, aptly titled 'Law for Self Defense,' this gun could have easily belonged to any scholarly 19th century person looking for peace-of-mind while at home or travelling.

3) Pendleton Woolen Mills San Miguel Blanket Sure, it's powerful hot under the noonday sun, but the mercury does dip considerably in the twilight hours; cozy up the cabin with this classic Southwest-style Pendleton blanket! Made in the USA. $198.00-$318.00

A pattern inspired by mid- to late-19th century Native American weaving traditions and the influence of Spanish missionaries in the Southwest. The design's roots are in the traditional banded Chief Stripe pattern which evolved into a "nine-element" layout. The reversible jacquard has two dramatically different looks.

4) Glass Crow beads in aqua. Just because they're the only thing in this Trading Post I can afford to own doesn't make them any less pretty! Made in India, with subtle variations in color and shape that make these beads look like they've been around a good long while... string 'em up and wear as a necklace, or work them into your craft projects; you'll be glad you did! $3.96 per 100.

5) Dark red traditional 4 button Navajo-style moccasins. Slip into a pair of these sturdy leather mocs, and you'll be kitted out in true Pueblo fashion! You'll traverse many a high mesa before those thick leather soles show any signs of wear at all! Hand-made in the USA. $170.66

The stock is always changing here at the Trading Post; if you don't like what you see this time around, well I reckon we'll have something new for you next time you're in town! Thank You kindly for stopping by, and don't forget to help yourself to a few pieces of penny candy on your way out!

Mashantucket Pequot Museum Visit and the Hunt for Purple Wampum!

On Easter sunday, Anne and I took a vigorous ramble along the rocky coastline of Beavertail State Park in picturesque Jamestown, RI, hoping to find some interesting ocean curiosities washed up by the recent storms (below):



I was excited to find a lobster buoy and a "mermaids purse" (an empty skate egg sac), though there wasn't much else to speak of. Driving back to Providence, we pulled over to examine Mackerel Cove beach and Sheffield Cove, where we became enamored of the rich, purple-hued pieces of quahog clam shell that dotted the shoreline at low tide. We eagerly picked up as many specimens as we could hold before hunger and fatigue forced us back along our journey home.



I didn't have any particular project in mind for those lovely purple quahog shells, though I was aware that some of the coastal Native American tribes fashioned the shells into tubular purple beads that became valued as a form of currency often referred to as "wampum". Well, as luck would have it, I was treated to all sorts of great information on wampum, and every other aspect of the lives and culture of the local Mashantucket Pequot Indians at the amazing Mashantucket Pequot Museum yesterday!

I had heard great things about the museum, and was excited to finally make the one hour drive down to the Pequot reservation in Connecticut to visit; boy, were we surprised and delighted with what we found! Opened in 1998, the museum is huge, with beautifully designed exhibits, dioramas, films, interactive elements and immersive environments that cover seemingly every aspect of life as a Pequot from the ice age to modern times. By the time we had taken in the ice-age caribou hunt, the life-sized mastadon, woodland foraging displays and a peek at life under the Mashantucket rock shelter, we were starting to feel some serious museum fatigue. A stroll through the gift shop and subsequent cookie break rejuvenated us nicely, though, and it's a good thing, because the most astonishing experience was still to come!

(image courtesy of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum)

The Pequot Village is a stunning, immersive environment that recreates, down to the minutest detail, life in a Pequot village. A hand-held audio phone allows the participant to punch in numbers to access spoken descriptions of some 35 different scenes or activities while wandering through the village. I always love those miniature dioramas of life in Native American villages you see at some museums; this is kind of like one of those, except it is all life-sized and totally realistic: there is steam billowing out of the top of the sweat lodge, you can walk right inside and explore the sachem's (chief's) wigwam, or peer into the medicine man's wigwam, where a healing ceremony is taking place! Oh, and I know what to do with my purple quahog shells now... make wampum!

(image courtesy of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum)

In one part of the village, a family sat around a fire enjoying a meal of succotash and mussels, while dad cut up quahog shells to make purple wampum beads!!!

above: strings of wampum beads from the collection of Harvard's Peabody Museum of Anthropology.

There was only an hour and a half left until closing time; we could easily have spent twice that exploring the village! Beyond the village are films depicting various aspects of the Pequot experience, and exhibits detailing the changes that Pequots faced after the arrival of the europeans. Although we made one last stop at the gift shop to pick up some well crafted beaded items, the best souvenir of all was the newly learned appreciation for the local Pequot history and culture that we took away from our visit to this fine museum!

I will do a follow-up post if I manage to produce some wampum beads from my quahog shells (I say "if" because it doesn't look easy to do)! I'm really glad to have learned more about quahog wampum... I hope you will click here to learn more about the role that wampum played in Pequot life! Below is an image of some wampum beads in a partially finished state, courtesy of the National Museum of the American Indian:


Time to go make some wampum! Thanks for joining me!

Ceremonial Bachelorette Party Headdress!!!

While I wasn't permitted to attend this talented friend's festive bachelorette party (girls only!), I jumped at the chance to craft the crown that would be placed on her head during her "abduction" and subsequent rituals and ceremonies performed throughout the evening to honor the bride-to-be!

I tend to be bad about documenting projects from start to finish; many of the details of making things seem so mundane to me that I can't bring myself to stop what I'm doing to photograph them, and before I know it I have a completed craft project and no photos of the creative process (which is pretty much what happened with this one)! I realize this is a problem, and I'm really going to work on this in the future!

For this project I decided pretty quickly that the crown was really going to be more of a headdress, and from there, I began to visualize the various elements that make up a headdress and how I could personalize those elements for the bride-to-be. In keeping with the original request for a crown, I started by cutting a foundation strap of silver leather to resemble a crown that terminated on either end in long, thin strips that would be used to tie the headdress on:



Once I had that foundation figured out, I decided on a dark turquoise leather strip (aqua/turquoise was a dominant color in the wedding) that would serve as the backdrop for a strip of beadwork I was envisioning that would feature the bride and groom's initials. I cut the scalloped upper edge of the strip (with some difficulty) using pinking shears. Although I've been doing quite a bit of lazy stitch beadwork lately, the turquoise leather wasn't well suited for that technique (the surface of the leather is very dense, not "pillowy" and easily pierced like the deerskin I had been beading directly onto previously), so I set up my little bead loom, and proceeded to bead a decorative strip (while listening to the entire new Joanna Newsom album for free on NPR!). This is the pattern I came up with beforehand that I worked from while I was beading:



Once finished, I tied off the ends of the beadwork strip, and whipstitched through the outermost warp thread on the top and bottom edge of the bead strip and into the turquoise leather. Now that the beadwork was attached to the turquoise strip, I wanted to attach that to the silver crown foundation; this I accomplished by punching pairs of evenly spaced holes through both layers of leather with an awl, then poking strips of imitation sinew up through through the holes from the back of the headdress. Each strip of sinew passes through both layers of leather and a vintage mirrored turquoise glass bead on the front of the headdress, then back down through the second hole where it is secured by a knot in back, so while the row of 15 glass beads across the lower edge of the headdress appears decorative (it is pretty!) it is also structural, serving to hold everything together! I wanted to resort to using glue as little as possible; on this particular project, I felt like the process of stitching different materials together was representative of the union of my two friends, so I stitched alot, and wished for their happiness with each stitch!



I had a grand time plundering my craft bins for materials to use on this project! On either side of the beadwork strip hang two tin-cone and horsehair (a reference to Horsefingers, the bride-to-be's brilliant short film trilogy) drops that pass through a decorative abalone disk... again, these items are all affixed with the imitation sinew... no glue (yet!). The turquoise bells were then stitched on.



Now it was time to affix the feathers, and that is where the glue came into play. First I glued the little arrangement of colored feathers onto the inner surface of the silver leather crown with flexible craft glue and let that dry. Then I glued the long strip of white feathers (they are sold on a ribbon strip by the yard at M&J Trimming in Manhattan) onto the interior surface of the silver leather crown and let that dry. Finally, I glued a strip of wide cotton twill tape over the entire interior portion of the headdress to cover up any knots or feather bits that might poke out and feel uncomfortable against the head.



This was a really fun and meaningful project for me that culminated in the attendance of a super-duper fun and meaningful wedding! Thank You, Congratulations, and Best Wishes to you Both, Kirsten and Bill!!!

And Thank You for joining me, Kind Reader!!! I hope you will join me again soon-ish for the fun and scary next installment in my "The Natural History Museum Inspired This!" series!

Following are a few images of headdresses in the collection of The National Museum of the American Indian that served as inspiration:

Shaman Cap Makeover... Update!

Hello, Hello! Please pardon me and accept my apologies while I take a brief respite from the popular "The Natural History Museum Inspired This!" series and publish this post that will, in all likelihood, appeal to exactly 0% of my readers!

You might recall one of my less interesting earlier posts entitled "Shaman Cap Makeover" in which I deconstructed a somewhat sketchy artifact I had assembled many years ago in the hopes of bringing it up to my current, more stringent, craft standards. I committed to applying quite alot of "lazy stitch" style beadwork to the shaman cap, and ultimately had a devil of a time deciding on a bead pattern for the front stripe. I actually applied and removed 3 different designs (making each subsequent strip wider by a few beads so as to cover the punctures from the previous round) before I settled on something I could live with. I finally came up with a simple, 13 bead wide strip of white and blue (2 shades) arranged in a "chevron" pattern. I'm pretty happy with this one; it's nice and simple, though the use of a darker and lighter shade of blue kept it from looking too plain.





There is still more work to be done on this project, but I was excited to share the new beadwork... Thank You, kind readers for indulging me!

Below are some images of similar headwear from the Native American collection at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. While I was researching this sort of cap, I found that the diagonal-stripe beadwork was quite common, which is why I decided to do the same pattern in black and white beads to cover the seams where the buckskin segments are sewn together.









Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou for joining me!