Page 12 The Artwork of L. Crystal Michallet - Romero

The first step in making anything from sculpty is to knead it from the two bricks, to a pliable shape.  From there, the face can be formed, and the eyes, nose, mouth and cheeks can be molded and carved into the clay.  Once it's fired, and sanded to a fine grain, paint can be applied. After the paint is added, and dried, a fine gloss finish is sprayed over the entire mask, front and back.  Once the gloss is dried, the feathers are attached to the top of the head.  After the feathers are fixed to the mask, the fine strands of horsehair can be added to the head.  Only after the hair is applied can the buffalo head piece be attached to the top of the head, and around the neck.  The added buffalo fur gives the allusion that she is wearing a buffalo cape, and hat, which is how she is described in the myths. The end result of all this work is White Buffalo Calf Woman Sings! Mitakuye Oyasin - We Are All Related in the Sacred Hoop of Life.

Title: White Buffalo Calf Woman Sings
Medium: Sculpty, acrylic paints, horse hair, assorted feathers, white
deer skin, brown buffalo fur (Fur compliments of Ambyrhawke Shadowsinger).

Because I am giving this mask as a gift to a couple, I am refraining from
mentioning who the new owners of this piece are, in order to maintain
their privacy.  Should I ever hear from them and I am given permission
to mention their names as the new owners of the piece on this page, I will
do so at that time.  Until then, their privacy will be respected.

The colors painted on the right cheek are white, black, red, yellow, and
white. These colors signify the four colors of humans.  According to one
of the Lakota prophecies, it states that after a white buffalo is born to the
world, the four races of man will come together and unite as one in peace.
Once these two feats are accomplished, then White Buffalo Calf Woman
will return again to the earth. To learn about the birth of the white buffalo,
Miracle, who was born in Janesville, Wisc:  The fullfillment of the 1st prophecy.

White Buffalo Calf Woman is a part of Lakota legend.  In addition to  many gifts, one she gave to the people
were the sacred songs, words, and music, combined with the spiritual prayers in order that the buffalo would
always be plentiful.  This insured that the Lakota would continue to thrive. This mask is my portrayal of her
teaching the sacred songs to the tribes of man.

This mask is a milestone in my journey with sculptures.  In creating this mask, I had two major obstacles that I
had to overcome.

The first major obstacle was beginning a sculpture knowing that it was meant to be given away to complete
strangers.  Because I never know if other people will understand the great length of time it takes to make my
pieces, or how important they are to me, I have never given any of the sculptured pieces to non-family
members, and in the past, have only given one piece to my mother in-law.  Giving it away to people whom I
don't know is a major test for me.  I consider this a big step for me to learn how to trust what is meant to be.  
There is a good possibility that I may never know how this piece is received, or even if the couple whom I
have given it to have chosen to keep it and display it on their wall.  So this is a lesson for me in learning how to
let go without reservations or regrets.

The second major hurdle I had to overcome in making this sculpture was the use of real buffalo fur for the
piece. Ever since I learned many years ago that one of my totem spirits is a white buffalo, I've found the notion
of using real buffalo, or even eating the meat of buffalo, repugnant and too cannibalistic for me.  However, I
also know that using any other animal's fur to represent the buffalo cloak and head piece would have gone
against the way that the mask was meant to be created.  The one thing, which I did compromise on is that I did
not seek out white buffalo fur because to me, seeking out the fur of an animal, which is not only sacred, but
also still living, would have been going too far.  So aside for the minor compromise, I did overcome my own
objections and used real buffalo fur.