Fox Rattle
Fox Rattle Features:
- Rattle (Fox) head is about 4 1/4-inches high, 4 1/4-inches wide, and 1 1/4-inches thick. Overall length, 12 inches
- Not sure of the wood in the handle, but it is so beautiful! A butterscotch color with fox red splotches. i wasn't even aware I had it in the shop! And it is the only piece I found.
- Fox painting by Glenn Lewis
- White and tan deer suede lacing triple wrapped and trailing more than 7-inches beneath the bottom of the handle.
- This rattle is made in the old way of certain tribes that simply fastened the head to the handle with gut. Thus, the stick handle does not go all the way through the rattle and out the top. It is fastened with faux gut and overlaid with the deer lacing.
- The rattle itself is made of goat rawhide, so is rather delicate and not subject to rough use. As a result, it is very lightweight.
- Hand sewn with contrasting black linen thread treated with wax.
- Hear The Fox Rattle, below left.
plus $12 s/h for U.S. Customers
International customers please inquire for shipping cost.
More Rattles
The Fox Rattle
(Hear the Fox Rattle, Below)
I was recently working on a radical new rattle design for a customer, and I was looking to make it in the shape of a specific animal totem of hers. Several attempts failed. Something — SOMETHING — kept getting in the way.
Now, when I'm thus engaged in spiritual pursuits like these, I don't experience frustration when I fail, but I do feel intrigued! It's a mystery to solve and I go after it like an excited bloodhound.
A few days later I discovered the cause, and should not have been surprised to find that I had been on the trail of Fox. But I was surprised, indeed.
Have you ever seen a fox out in the wild? I've seen several, and every time—every time!— it's like a dream. Oh, many animals, deer, in particular can, like fox, become transparent. But none can move as quickly, nor as quietly as Fox. She can blend into the background as easily as a chameleon, but then suddenly reappear 50 yards away, standing and staring at you, wary, yet self assured, almost smiling. She knows secrets.
On the day I discovered her, I had just cut out a pattern that I thought would be perfect for the design I was hoping to perfect. One never knows with rattles, though, until you actually make it. It's not as simple as it may appear, for you have to sew it tightly with a special needle capable of penetrating rawide, and with thread you must coat with wax. (Yes, I could save time by using a sewing machine, but I prefer the old ways. A teacher had taught me that freely giving of yourself in this way can have a lasting, positive effect, both for yourself and for anyone you may be making something for. It's all about intention.) Then, in keeping with the old ways, you pack it with sand as tightly as possible and hang it up to dry for several hours. Only then, when it's dry, can you know for sure its final shape, because it shrinks and changes shape during the drying process.
So I thought when I hung up this particular design to dry that I had just made a certain animal. But when it was dry, it turned out to be Fox! I could see her face in it, no doubt whatsoever. So self assured she looked. And her eyes and general countenance held fast, as if she was about to speak.But she didn't. The Stealth Master knows secrets, but she doesn't necessarily share them all at once. She chose only two to reveal to me. First, her identity. The other, I believe, was in helping me design the rattle for the customer, which did turn out fine.
So I finished making the rest of her and took her to Glenn Lewis with a request to paint her likeness on the rattle. I think he did a great job.
She is a one-of-a-kind, like so many that come forward when I'm in the shop. They are individuals, each a wonderful spiritual ally that steps forward into reality, regardless of what I may be intending. These helpers seldom wait for us to call them. They move in to help even before we know they are needed. They can appear here then there, most times remaining unseen or unnoticed, but they are always trying to help, always loving, and forever on the lookout for an opportunity to whisper secrets to us.
Does Fox hold her secrets for you?
Hear The Fox Rattle Now!
Notes:
1. As I say in the features at right, this is a lightweight rattle. Because it is made of goat rawhide, and because the handle does not extend clear through to the top (in order to allow the rattle to have great sound), it cannot stand excess pressure from the outside, else it may collapse or wrinkle. It needs TLC, and will reward you with secrets.
2. I also say in the features column, but it's worth repeating: The handle is SO BEAUTIFUL. Yet, I don't know what type of wood it is. I merely picked it out of the special bin where I keep sticks worthy of becoming drumsticks, and started peeling off its bark. Wow! After I finished it, I eagerly looked in the bin for more, but there weren't any! Perhaps Fox had simply worked her magic in putting that stick in there. I will never know. Just another of her secrets.
