I took my dog, Scamp, out for an all day hike at Oak Mountain the other day, and I gained a whole new appreciation for the rattlesnake. Most of the snakes that I have forged into metals have been boa constrictor-ish or python-ish like Kaa from Jungle Book.
Cosmic Garden: sterling silver, shibuichi, copper alloy, oolite cabochon, sapphire, and anthill garnets.
Still using the tensions between masculine and feminine imagery and symbols, I am playing with these shapes for a more icon-like feel to these pendants. I am also using different alloys of copper and sterling to explore the color possibilities of the metals.
Boas and pythons hunt by ambush. They reach out and grab and smother. But, as Scamp and I were traversing the rocks on the way up to Shackleford Point, I heard an ancient alarm clock going off on the ledge above us. The rattle of the shaman, the baby’s rattle, an ancient reminder to pay attention. “Don’t tread on me.” I’d prefer the other snakes to take note of the rattler. I appreciated knowing where to avoid walking.
Lodolite Garden: Sterling, copper, lodolite quartz, anthill garnets.
The snake is obviously thought of mostly as a masculine symbol, phallic. But, in stories, folklore, and mythology, snakes have been depicted as feminine as well, at least feminine in the control of the beast.
Cosmic Garden: detail
And, it’s such an odd animal. It always looks so ridiculous scratching its back.
Flowers? Well, that’s the easy one. Flowers are pretty.
Keep an eye on what is going on in my studio through Facebook here.
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Thank you,
I need to catch up on the Ganoksin forum. It sounds like an interesting topic.
Water moccasins (aka – cottonmouths) aren’t generally fatal to healthy adults, but for a child or a dog it very well could be. But, if you keep an eye out for them, you should be ok. My experience is that they make a big aggressive show to try to run you out of their turf. If there are lots of people swimming, your dogs should be fine.
Michael, thank you for your explanation. I’m enjoying reading your blog, and reading the conversation going on on Ganoksin the last few days about using a bezel setting in a wood piece. The technique sounds similar. And it sounds like a lot of fun. I think I’ll give it a try when I finish up some pieces I need to get out.
I’ve yet to see a water moccasin … and hope I don’t see one anytime soon. We have two Golden Retrievers who absolutely love the water and swimming. No problem when we’re up north, but when we take them down to Austin TX for the winter months, I always worry when they get around the water. I’m glad to hear the water mocs are’t fatal at any rate.
I love at your designs. They’re beautiful! Thanks for sharing them.
Actually, the oolite was originally cut by George Ingraham of http://taogem.com cut the cab for me. I then drilled it out for the setting. I used an epoxy to hold the tube rivet first, and then I expanded the tube in the back with a tapered punch. It is physically set into the cab, but the epoxy is just used to hold it steady for the setting and is just an extra security.
Thanks!!! Yes, here in Alabama, we have quite a few of these critters as well. The worst of them is the cotton mouth/ water moccasins. They may not be killers, but they can mess up your day (or a couple of days), and they’ll chase you out of your favorite fishing hole. :o)
Beautiful piece. I saw the picture on your Facebook site of the oolite with the tube setting. How did you keep the setting in the stone? Do you glue it? Do you solder it to a piece on the back?
And on another front, having grown up on a ranch in far West Texas … I have a healthy respect for those snakes that you manage to make look beautiful!
Thank you, Virginia.
I get a lot more cotton mouths/ water moccasins that come up out of the creek out back. These are a lot more aggressive, but at least they’re not fatal critters. But, I’d prefer if they’d all just stay off of the back porch, ha ha.
We’ve also had a coyote problem this year, which has reduced the stray cat problem. But, they keep leaving anvils embedded in the yard :o)
I look forward to seeing you on FB:o)
Your work is wonderful! I’d rather dream about your beautiful designs than relive the nightmares of whacking those suckers over the head with a shovel! I find at least 6 rattlers in my yard each summer and would much rather live without that kind of excitement. My dogs have never been trained but bark like crazy to warn me. They corner them until I can find a shovel and a can of wasp spray to stun it. Then I toss them over the fence and breate a sigh of relief. I have heard that snake shock training, if done poorly, can do more damage to a dog, than good.
Your designs are superb – perfect accessories for casual Southwest style in Tucson, AZ. I can’t wait to visit your FB page to follow your progress. Thanks for sharing!
The kink for me is the rattler in a double wire cage. I have no interest in finding and keeping one of these :o)
I did know someone a long time ago who had a rattler in his apartment. He had nightmares till he got rid of it. But, that’s a whole other story.
They put a shock collar on the dog, have an aggressive rattler in a double wire cage and when the dog goes to sniff it they shock the bejesus out of the poor dog. They do this four times or until the dog associates the scent of rattlesnake with the pain of the shock collar and being hollered at. Worked really well, so far on my daily walk I have found four of the snakes just sitting quietly under bursage along the edge of the road. Snakes don’t want to be found any more than you want to find them.
You’re really turning out some nice work of late, nice opals too.
Jerry
Scamp had ignored this one too, even after the rattle. He never seems to see or sense frogs or snakes. I thought that maybe he was just daft, ha ha.
I have never heard of snake training. Sounds interesting.
Thanks!!
Nice work! I just went through the process of getting my dogs snake trained to sense the danger of rattle snakes, five of them. Now they are attuned to the scent of them when we go walking and I never knew how close we came to them before, they don’t always rattle!!! The dogs just ignored them before but now the drag me away from the area. With the cost of antivenin dog training is cheap at $50 compared to the average cost of $1500 to $2000 to get your best friend treated for snake bite. You also have the Copperhead but it usually isn’t lethal to dogs or man but I still wouldn’t want to be the victim of a bite. Take care and post some more work on your blog.