Black glass feathers & silver
The strikingly large black birds are native to the area, and no one lives in the Southwest for long without learning the regional legend of Raven, who stole the sun, moon and stars after winning the heart of Grey Eagle's daughter.
for a rafting company and learned to row the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. She spent summers hacking a trail through Oak Creek Canyon in nearby Sedona, cleared ski slopes in the fall months, and groomed the slopes in winter. Chris experienced those years as an artist, observing them closely. She put her back into the bones of the land, got its dirt under her nails, and washed in its waters. Over time, and with a few close encounters, Chris also became familiar with most of the indigenous life.
It was the ravens that she came to admire most, though. The strikingly large, sharp eyed, black birds are native to the area, and no one lives in the Southwest for long without learning the regional legend of Raven, who stole the sun, moon and stars after winning the heart of Gray Eagle’s daughter. Throughout the summer project in Sedona, Chris and her team mates shared territory with the birds, marveling at their individual and collective hunting strategies. On the river trips, she watched them glide serenely through the canyon in pairs, following the flotillas and foraging the nightly campsites. She watched them play on the ski slopes, rolling downhill in the snow.
Whatever she was doing to pay the bills, Chris was an artist when she came home. While she could create a thing of beauty from any object, she was most inspired by light: light shining through colored glass, and the flash of light reflected in polished metal. As she had since before leaving Chicago, she continued to make fine jewelry of sand blasted silver and gems. But she also began to experiment with stained glass techniques. She made small chili pepper and hummingbird sun catchers, and sold them at local art fairs. But Chris was captivated by this new medium, and the pieces she created grew larger and more complex.