I have been making Water Drum Bags for over fifteen years now. They are a natural outgrowth of of my life as a designer and maker of bags and my life as a ceremonialist. Over the years I have been blending these two parts of my life together, integrating my creative work and my spiritual work. As a designer I know the steps it takes to design and make something. As a ceremonialist I have come to understand what it takes to co-create and inhabit a spiritual environment. In my Water Drum Bags I bring my experience of making functional and beautiful fabric containers and add individualized artwork on the lid using symbols that have spiritual significance.

I am happiest when I get to make a Drum bag that has special art work on the top. I encourage people to send me their original designs, contained in a  9″ diameter circle. Line drawings are best, as I stitch the artwork through 3 layers: canvas, foam and lining. This gives it a sculpted bas relief look because it is compressed where it is stitched. I often, though not always, paint the artwork on the top.

I usually make these bags with canvas. When I make red and blue bags I’ll make the bottom red to symbolize the earth and fire and the top half blue to symbolize the sky and water. I like to find beautiful trim to add in the seam where the colors join. I also make these bags using tapestry fabrics, usually geometric or southwestern patterns. When I make them using tapestry fabrics I’ll stitch a part of the pattern in the weave on the lid, choosing a part of the design that I feel has symbolic meaning. They are lined with durable waterproof nylon fabric as with all of my bags.

The Water Drum is a heavy cast iron kettle on which a hide is tied. The kettles themselves are very heavy duty and not prone to breakage but they can break other things around them if they are not properly secured. That is why I make these bags with padded sides, tops and bases. I add two large “ears” on either side and attach the handle this way. This distributes the carrying weight over a larger surface area, making a very secure handle. The round lid is zippered all the way around except for a small fabric hinge at the back.

The sound of the drum is the heartbeat of our ceremonies. Creating these bags is a work of love for me. I bring my bag making skill, art and spirituality together in these creations. I make them with good thoughts for the people and with joy in the creative process.