Back in March my clan sister Laura (Desert Fire Hawk), had a request for me, to make a button Blanket for her. I was greatly honored by this request and started to do some research into this ceremonial art form. There is a great book about Button Blankets, "Robes of Power: Totem Poles on cloth" by Doreen Jensen and Polly Sargent. I also picked up a child's book, "the button blanket: Northwest coast Indian Art Activity Book" by Nan McNutt. And to further my understanding of Northwest art I found the book, "Northwest Coast Indian Art: an Analysis of Form" by Bill Holm to be very helpful. And then there is a short video on the web called Vistas: Button Blanket . After reading all about the process of making the Blanket, I started searching for the materials. I wanted Black wool Melton cloth and Red wool felt. I live in Florida so wool is not a big selling item here. I found a few good websites for the fabrics and ordered what I needed. I also needed Abalone Shell Buttons, so I found a website for that.
The most important part of the Blanket process was to come up with a design that would show Lauras Family ties and stories, so we had many Skype conversations, and I began to get an Idea for the main design element the crest.
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