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Faded Glory
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In case you haven’t caught wind of it, I’m a raven lunatic! My house is named the Rookery (a gathering place for ravens), and I have many pieces of art throughout the house that feature ravens. I have two raven tattoos. The circular center of this quilt was the inspiration for the tattoo on my right bicep, and very large raven tattoo with a tree and stop watch covers my left back and shoulder.
Did you know…a group of crows is called a murder, but a group of ravens is called an unkindness. My quilt, Raven and the Wind, is a Rhapsody quilt that I designed and made several years ago. I used the design on the tipi that burned in the Spring fire in 2018. I also recorded my original song Raven and the Wind, where I play Native American flute, which is featured on my newest CD Alone With My Thoughts.
Ravens are super intelligent birds - some say the most intelligent of all birds. They are often associated with omens of death and darkness, but they are also associated with trickery and creation. The aboriginal people of the Pacific Northwest Coast have a story about how Raven brought light into the world.
In the beginning the world was in total darkness.
Raven, who same say was once a large white bird—and who had existed from the beginning of time, saw all the people living in darkness. Raven himself was tired of groping in darkness and bumping into things. Eventually the Raven came upon the home of an old man who lived alone with his daughter. Through his slyness, the Raven learned that the old man had a great treasure—a light. This was all the light in the universe and it was contained in a chest.
The Raven came up with a plan. He waited until the old man's daughter came to the river to gather water. Then the Raven changed himself into a single spruce needle and dropped himself into the river just as the girl was dipping her hand into the water for a drink.
As she drank, she swallowed the spruce needle. It slipped and slithered down into her warm belly, where Raven transformed himself into a tiny human. After sleeping and growing in her belly, he finally emerged into the world once more---this time as a human infant.
Raven's grandfather loved him despite is odd appearance. As the boy grew, the old man threatened severe punishment if he ever tried to open the precious treasure chest. The ravenchild was persistent and incessantly cried—begging to be allowed to see the light that was kept inside the chest. He pleaded with his grandfather to let him see the light just for a moment.
In time, weary from the begging and pleading, the old man yielded and lifted the lid from the box. Inside was a warm glowing sphere. The human child instantly transformed into a gigantic bird, wings spread and ready for flight. Raven lunged for the orb, grabbed it in his talons, and burst up through the smoke hole in the roof of the hut, escaping into the darkness with his stolen treasure. He flew high into the heavens. As he flew higher, the orb got hotter and brighter. It burned Raven and his feathers turned black. He finally flung the orb into place high above earth. The world now had light, but the Raven forever remained black. And that is how light came into the universe.
JIGSAW PUZZLE
Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE
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