Halito and Welcome to Red Threads. Sit Long and Talk Much

Halito and welcome,

For those of you who do not know me, please let me introduce myself.

I'm a Native American textiles artist living in the Chicago area. I'm originally from Mississippi (so I'm a southerner at heart). I've had the opportunity to view pieces of original Native American artwork spanning the centuries that are in collections all over the country. I generally focus on artistic museum quality reproductions of pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries.

When I was 15 I was taught how to weave by an elder in our community and since then I've been working at perfecting that art. I've always had a natural desire to create things. That combined with my heritage has led me to become well versed in a wide variety of Native American artforms such as; fingerweaving, twining, and quilling to name a few. The life of
"the people" was that of a life in balance. One must understand that essential element of the culture in order to understand the other parts such as the material culture.

I have laboured long to learn and master many of the skills and crafts involved in reproducing the material culture of the people. This I have done so that those who have passed before me may still live through my work. That beauty and balance is what you will find here on my site.

So please, as the sign says "Sit long, and talk much". I hope that you'll enjoy browsing through my site. There are plenty of pictures in the photo gallery of myself and friends at "Living History" events. I've also included a section that contains traditional Native stories that I have learned from elders. Native Americans have great senses of humor, and to that end, I've also included some very interesting (some would call them crazy) stories that I've written about Pontiac, the great War-Leader of the Ottawa...In the stories...well, you'll just have to read them for yourself. As you may discover from reading, I employ my artistic ability in words as well. The "Other Stories" section is a showcase of just some of my work that is presently being submitted for publication. Stop by the message board to see what's going on, or just to say hi.

*Note* I am no longer accepting orders/commissions for work in order to pursue my own personal artwork projects. I will however have items for sale in the "For Sale" section as I produce them.

Thanks and may God bless you in all that you do.

David B. Wells

Red Threads Designs.