New Doll: Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

I made this doll in the spring, but wasn’t sure how I wanted to dress her, and over the summer I had a lot of pain in my hands, so I had to set her aside for a while. 

She is made of organic color grown cotton, but her hair, face and nails are bamboo. Her dress is made of organic cotton fabric, and she is stuffed with organic cotton too. She has a steel wire armature, and is approximately 7.25 inches tall.

I decided to make her after reading a very interesting book about Saint Kateri Tekakwitha called "Saint Kateri: Lily of the Mohawks" by Matthew and Margaret Bunson. Her clothing is inspired by the way they said Kateri dressed in the book after she moved to the Sault Mission, in a simple long blue dress. I knitted a shawl, I wanted it to kind of look like deerskin or something like that. They said she usually wore a shawl, sometimes covered her hair with it, but they didn't say what it looked like, so I just made it up to match her boots :P

She is holding a “rosary”, made of a little ball chain and a sterling silver cross (yes, it’s actually an Orthodox cross, but it’s all I had on hand that could work for now!). Eventually I would like to make her a rosary out of glass beads, but I haven’t’ quite figured out how to do it yet…

Anyways, I think she turned out pretty cute, I am happy with my little Kateri ^_^ Here are some photos of her:

New Illustration: Zuni Maidens

Zuni Maidens
Ink on Bristol Board
2.5x3.5"
©2012 Debi Cady

Inspired by apple coral and gaspeite corn maiden fetish carvings by Claudia Peina. These Zuni maidens wear a tabletta headdress used in ceremonial dances depicting the Corn Maiden, who represents the gift of life given by the Great Spirit. These little maiden carvings always make me smile, I hope they will do the same for you ^-^

This illustration is now available on various items on my stores at Cafe Press, Zazzle, Red Bubble, Artist Rising, and my deviantArt print shop. 

New Illustration: Corn Maidens

Corn Maidens
Ink on Watercolor paper
©2010 Debi Cady

This illustration was inspired by Zuni Corn Maiden fetish necklaces my mom got me from Southwest Indian Foundation. In my mind, the corn maidens in this picture are kind of like little angels, they bless the corn so that it will be good for whoever eats it. But they hide whenever people come near, so you usually can't see them ^-^ 

This illustration is now available on my stores at Cafe Press, Zazzle, Red Bubble, and my deviantArt Print Shop.

New Illustration: Indian Angel

Indian Angel
Minerals on Papyrus
©2007 Debi Cady

This illustration was inspired by a sari I saw in an Indian wedding magazine. It was so gorgeous! It was a lot of fun to draw, but doing the detail work in this particular medium was not easy, it took a really long time. 

This illustration is now available on my stores on Cafe Press, Zazzle, Red Bubble, and my deviantArt Print Shop.