Desert Moon  Native Crafts

Coyote Woman ~ artist unknown

Basket's Page

I do a number of different things but my specialty is coiled baskets.  I do most of my basket work with pine needles but I will use any natural material that will lend itself to being woven...horse hair, grasses, palm fronds, etc.  I work as traditionally as possible and still keep up with my orders.  My baskets have found their way all over the world.  Even into museums...one is on display at the Boston museum.  The following are pictures of some of the baskets I have done in the past.

The 2 pictures directly above are of a basket called Grandmother's Tears.  I wish the pictures had turned out better.  This piece is made of horse hair.  It starts out with black horse hair and with a tear drop in the very bottom.  It then goes to brown, then gray and finally white....representing the years that Grandmother lived.  The turquoise stones represent the tears that Grandmother shed.

I also do gourd and basket combos like the following ones...

The smaller of the gourds has buffalo hump hair around the top and 2 stone buffalos suspended down the side.  The middle gourd, when it was completed, had pictograph mountain goats burned around the side of it.  The one of the right is a large gourd lined with turquoise suede leather and turquoise nuggets along with brass beads woven between the pine needles and the gourd.

This is a round basket piece of pine needles used as the center piece for a cedar berry and brass bead necklace.  It also has carved bone turtles suspended from brass beads.  I also put a larger bone turtle in the center of the pine needle piece.

Here is a Zuni inlaid piece with a hummingbird...colors are brighter than they show here...set on a pine needle piece and strung on red glass beads

This piece is pine needles with stone bears and strung on rose quartz beads.  Earrings can be made to match the necklace.

And here is a pine needle hair piece....backed with leather.  An African porcupine quill is decorated with leather, bear concho and tin cones to hold this piece in place on your braid or ponytail.

Here are some of the other things that I make....

....Mop Dolls ~ never any 2 exactly alike.  And yes, I do make a boy grass dancer.

Have you always wanted a safe way to store and carry your smudge or dance fan?  Well, here is your answer.  These rigid folders are covered in quilted fabric with accents of fabric and ribbons.  They can be made to fit any size fan....no matter how thick or long....and they can be made to match your regalia.  Opened up there are ribbons to tie around the handle to hold the fan in place.  Also a loop of ribbon at the top so that you can hang this on the hanger with your regalia.  Included with each fan folder is a matching pouch with cedar to keep away the critters that eat at feathers.

Here is a breastplate that I made for Bear using horn hair pipe and glass crow beads.  I also made a choker to match.

...and here are a few bone chokers that I have made.

..and clothing!  Shawls, ribbon shirts, some dance regalia and even period clothing.  Any size....and I do mean any size.  I specialize in "Indian sizes".  Between me and Mom we can make just about anything you need.

These last 2 shirts were made for 2 special friends.  The picture in the center is them wearing the shirts with their regalia...only the shirts are made by Desert Moon.

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