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Want to know more about us? Here's an interview that we gave for Ezebee Magazine. Check it out! Spotlight Interview with Danielle from Pachamama Native Art.
 One of our goals for 2014 for Pachamama Native Art was for us to produce and offer for free a short beading on rocks video tutorial. Many people had asked us about how to bead on rocks, and while we do offer local workshops, it's obviously hard for people who aren't in Oaxaca, Mexico, to participate with us locally. We wanted to share basic techniques of how to do that in a video format so that anyone could access it from anywhere for free. So that is what we set out to do. Being as we were/are on a shoestring budget and not specialized in video making, it was a challenge for us to produce a high quality video piece that we really had hoped to offer. Our technological abilities (or lack there of) got the better of us. Camera and phone batteries died, background noise was a problem, blurry video shootings and lighting problems persisted - you get the picture. It didn't go quite as we had hoped, but it was definitely the learning experience. Plus, we did produce a video, just not in a live video style. In the end, we wound up making a 3 1/2 minute presentation style video - a compilation of slides with super fun music! It's a design of a simple flower, just 6 lines, perfect for a beginner beader, and for anyone who wants to master a simple design. You can watch it here and also download a PDF format for free. The good news about making this video and learning from our previous attempt is that we now feel confident to continue our goals of making more videos and downloadable PDF tutorials throughout 2015. We got the ball rolling and for this, we are happy! Hope you enjoy our beading on rocks video tutorial! Please feel free to comment and give suggestions for video making. (We are aware that the video is a bit fast-paced and the music may be too loud for some- thanks, Mom, for the feedback ;) All comments are welcome and appreciated! ------------------------------------------------------------- Just for fun! Here is a video outtake from our first video of beading on rocks. You can see how Pedro dips the skewer in the glue and then selects the beads. Almost, but not quite there..... Enjoy! “I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can't possess radiance, you can only admire it.” Elizabeth Taylor For better or for worse, humans are digging below the Earth's service and unearthing well-known and new kinds of gemstones and crystals. With these excavations come a renewed love for learning about gemstones (if there ever was a decline). Maybe it's because people like to feel connected: connected to each other, to Earth, to the heavens, to Spirit. We are becoming more conscious of our actions in the world, how we effect and are affected by others, what we put into our bodies, and how to take charge of our health. We can choose stones and crystals to connect us in conscious and deliberate ways that can have lasting effects on us and the world around us. As for me, I'm no expert in crystals or gemstones. Heck, geology was the class that I scored lowest in, in my entire life! I do, however, enjoy reading up on them. I am one of those who believe in their gifts. I love the way they shimmer and sparkle, and enjoy gazing at their unique beauty. I wear them in jewelry and use them in meditation and in dream work. I can say that on a personal level, they've helped me to raise my own consciousness, even if it's been simply through my choosing to open my own heart and mind about their gifts. A word of caution, gemstones and crystals are often gifted to release energies for the user. As with any release, sometimes the energies are strong, unexpected, and intense. This may happen, but if proceeded with respect and understanding, you will probably encounter that which you need to encounter in the time you need it, too. However, you may like to consult crystal and gemstone experts to help you sort through some of what you may find on your journey. With this, I want to share with you five crystals and gemstones that are believed to help raise consciousness. Perhaps this consciousness raising will help to bring about change on a personal and mass level that we are all inevitably looking for. The information about the crystal and gemstones is from, 'The Book of Stones', by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian. I highly recommend the book if you're interested in reading detailed stories and meanings behind a variety of stones and crystals, and to see beautiful color photos of each. Click here to learn more or to purchase this amazing book of stones. It's also available on Amazon. 1) Clear Quartz - It's quite amazing that quartz is the most abundant crystal on Earth and one of the most versatile. There are many different types of quartz and for the average crystal wearer, it's sometimes hard to distinguish between them. Clear quartz is used by scientists and can transform mechanical energies, making it a useful component in radio parts, watches, transmitters, computers, etc. As for its esoteric properties, it aids in amplification of one's intentions, magnifies ambient energies, clears, cleanses and enhances one's memory. With continued and repeated meditation with clear quartz, one can visualize a desired outcome. In addition, clear quartz brings heightened spiritual awareness and can bring consciousness expansion, chakra opening, communication with spirit guides and polarity balancing. Be careful because negative energies, too, will be amplified if there is an intention, be it conscious or unconscious.  2) Lapis Lazuli - When I first learned about this stone, I had no idea about its royal history or its esoteric value. I completely overlooked its highest essences; I just fell for its intense blue/purple color. It's associated with truthful communication, royal virtues and inner vision. The finest Lapis Lazuli come from Afghanistan and carries the vibration of our inner 'kings' and 'queens'. It aids in connecting with the Gods and invokes Divine inspiration. As for consciousness expansion, it stimulates one's desire for knowledge and understanding. It's known for receiving information about one's past lives and helps to regain lost knowledge from ancient civilizations. Lapis Lazuli awakens the third eye and is a stone of self-reflection. You really want this stone if you are looking to raise your consciousness because it helps one to identify personal habits and patterns that may be overlooked on a conscious level.  3) Moonstone- While moonstone is often associated with lovers and to maintain harmony between couples, it's also believed to cure sleeplessness and is a keeper of feminine mysteries. The reason I included it on my list of consciousness raising stones is because it is used to observe hidden truths that reside within ourselves. This stone helps to bring those underlying truths into the light of consciousness. It helps to complete wholeness and enhance intuition. Since it is attributed to the feminine, it helps women connect with goddesses and access their feminine power. For men, it aids them in expressing their feminine side. It serves both men and women in reaching this higher consciousness about themselves. Moonstone also helps to sort through one's emotions and gain a higher perspective on purpose and meaning.  4) Aquamarine - Used in all types of cooling, from anger to hot flashes, it helps one to realize that not all power comes from force, and brings one to a calm yet alert and conscious state. It assists in communicating one's highest self and truth. As a water element, it brings one in touch with the unconscious, and stimulates the flow of energy in the heart and throat chakras. It helps one let go of the past tendencies and frees one from attachments. It aids in identifying egotistical patterns and then helps to consciously release them, thereby bringing one to a Divine level of love and compassion.  5) Turquoise - This gemstone is one of the most well-known throughout the world. Its uses dates back to 5000 BC in Iraq when turquoise beads were used. It's a stone for finding wholeness and truth, and aids in communication and manifestation of those properties. It teaches wisdom of compassion and forgiveness for others and ourselves, and it reminds us that wisdom comes from all of life's experiences. "Mistakes" are other experiences that add to our wisdom and learning. Turquoise is a stone for self acceptance and the release of regrets. It tells us to honor ourselves as creations and tools of the Divine. I included turquoise on my list as an important stone for consciousness and awareness raising because it gives us the belief that as we find our truth and speak from that truth, we are making important contributions to the collective whole, which is our connection to outside of ourselves. Change within, change without. May you wear and use your stones in good health of mind, body and spirit, and may you find all that you need on your spiritual and life journey. If you are interested in having a bracelet or ring made with gemstones, contact us with your ideas. You may also like our prosperity, abundance, and chakra-balancing jewelry.
"Every thing must have a beginning ... and that beginning must be linked to something that went before" ~ Mary Shelley, Frankenstein 
On various occasions, people have asked us about our company's name. Pacha-who-ma? So, we figured that it's a good time to share a little background on where our name comes from and how it's evolving along with us. It's funny how a name becomes the entity it represents. It holds weight, a name. Choosing a name for your business or life's work is like choosing a name for your child. It's something that has to have meaning for you, a word (or words) with significance. A name must sound good when one's a baby, but also has to grow and change with the entity. For us, Pachamama Native Art has changed with us over the past few years. We're evolving together and we want Pachamama Native Art to continue being a meaningful representation of our life's work and mission. Pachamama Native Art comes from Pachamama, an Andean goddess of fertility, who watches over planting and harvesting Mother Earth. Sometimes, she's considered to be Mother Earth herself. We chose the name, Pachamama, so that we always remember where we come from, to be thankful for all we have been blessed with, and to give ourselves with love, joy and gratitude from our hearts. With great respect and humility, we chose her name to represent us and our work. The "Native Art" part comes from our love for art and from the following concept of Native - "being in the place or environment where a person was born or came into being". That made sense for us. Pachamama Native Art. We came into being in Oaxaca, even though the seeds were planted in Boston, where we had lived before. Speaking of planting seeds, it brings us to our other passion for Pachamama, besides making art and jewelry with beads. We've been planting seeds and growing some plants and veges on our rooftop, right outside the Pachamama studio. See? It all makes sense. Pachamama - planting seeds in earth, nurturing, harvesting, sharing. Pachamama Native Art - making seed bead creations, bead work, workshops to share what we've learned and to learn from what others have to share. Woah! This is how we are growing with our name and our life's work. We receive, create, plant, harvest, share, give back. We spiral out and grow, just like plants, just like seed beads! It may sound fru-fru-ey, but it's who we are.
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Co-owner of Pachamama Native Art, Inc. and writer of this blog. Archives
May 2016
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