Equus

Materials used:

Draft horse jaw bone; Montana;
Quartz crystals, Arkansas;
Sacred sage from Chippewa Cree/Rocky Boy Native American Reservation;
Mica chips, Wyoming;
White snail shell, Hawaii.

This mask honors the animal and mineral kingdoms. Several years ago, I was gifted a full skull and jaw bone of a draft horse, and I used it for a major film and photography project associated with a black box theater production I directed at Montana State University, entitled "Equus."

Both the skull and the jaw are magnificently large, strong, and powerful. I have used the jaw bone as the base for this table mounted mask artistry piece. To the strength that the jaw represents within the animal kingdom, I have added the strength of some quartz crystals from my personal collection of minerals, used in some of my spiritual practices to honor Pacha Mama, the Mother Earth name in the Q'uechua language from the Q'uechua tribe in the Peruvian Andes. The mica chips my husband found in western Wyoming, and their use further honors the mineral kingdom of blessed Pacha Mama. To me, this mask represents STRENGTH within our spiritual nature and reassures me of the supportive strength contained within our individual and collective spirit guides and totem animals.