Organic Materials

Abalone Shell
Abalone is the inner lining of the mollusk shell with an incandescent pink, lavender to purple and green aspect. This colorful shell is prevalently found in the waters of the coasts of Australia, South Africa, Western North American and Japan, and includes the prized paua found off the coasts of New Zealand. The shell is so exceptionally strong that it is currently being studied for use in ceramic products and body armor.

Amber
Amber is made of tree resin, which is the semi-solid organic substance secreted in pockets and canals through epithelial cells of the plant. Most of the world's amber is 30 to 90 million years old. Amber sometimes contains insects and small vertebrates which were caught when it was soft and sticky, much like dinosaurs were trapped in mud pits.

Ammonite

Bone

Clay

Coral
Coral grows beneath the seas and oceans. It can be white, pink, from orange to deep red; in particular, true red coral is becoming more rare with each passing year. In today's market, more common white coral is often dyed red. The cost of the finished product should be comparable to the cost of the type of coral, true red being more dear.

Feathers

Gourds

Grasses

Hide

Horse Hair

Ivory
The walrus ivory used in our Alaskan carvings is harvested by the North Coast Inuit (Eskimo) people. This hunting is allowed in order for these people to maintain a subsistence life style, as the areas where they live are very remote, and hunting and fishing are vital to their existence. The Pacific walrus is neither threatened nor endangered, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service fully supports the right of the Inuit to legally harvest them.

Leather

Mother-of-Pearl
Mother-of-pearl is the iridescent lining, or nacre, of the shell of some fresh and salt water mollusks, with a soft luminous grey to white aspect. Main sources are the Asian tropical pearl oysters, U.S., European and Asian freshwater pearl mussels, and Pacific abalone of California and japan. This shell has been used and traded among Native Americans for centuries.

Paper

Pine needles

Shell

Spiny Oyster Shell
Most of the spiny oyster shell, or Spondylus, found in our gallery is probably harvested from the Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico. Different types of Spondylus may also be found in the warm waters off the coasts of Central and South America. Spondylus is Latin for "spines on its back," which is appropriate for this beautiful and difficult-to-harvest shell. It may be found in varying colo

Tagua Nut
The tagua nut has an ivory-like color and texture, and is commonly known as "vegetable ivory." It grows on palm-type trees in clumps called cabezas, which take up to three years to mature. As this tree grows in the rainforest, purchase of tagua nut products can create a sustainable economy for the preservation of these forests.

Wood

Wool
The most common wool used by the Navajo weavers today comes from the Merino sheep, which many Navajo people herd on the reservation today. However, the original sheep introduced by the Spanish colonists and used by the weavers was the Churro sheep. Government action in the indian wars and anti-erosion policy decimated flocks, and by the 1970s fewer than 450 existed. Utah State University instigated efforts to revive the Churro sheep and they now number more than 3,000 in the United States.


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