Journeys in Sound

My "bowl room" & assorted toys

How it began:

Some time ago I sat with, and studied with, a Native American Elder.  My family has Cherokee heritage and a series of events leading to a spiritual awakening, and many questions, led me to a Cherokee Woman and Elder who became my teacher for many years.  I was given the name Crystal Heart.  A name that seemed to me to be a little bit New Age as I was expecting something more native.  (a lesson in expectations)

One day my teacher turned to me and said...."You need to study sound, go sit with------" (A woman who was a sound healer) and I did.  For two years I was immersed in the study of sound as a hearing modality.  During that time, I was exposed to the sounds of Tibetan bowls and crystal bowls for the first time.  I loved both, but my soul sang with the crystal bowls.  I decided that I needed to have crystal bowls in my life and started to purchase them as I could afford it.

Spirit, of course, guided me to a woman who became a dear friend and happened to be a distributor for crystal bowls.  She made sure that every bowl I purchased was perfect pitch.  I now have 18 bowls in my collection, from 4" to 22" in diameter,  a full scale plus sharps.  Because they are perfect pitch, or nearly so, I can play them like an instrument and the sound is much more musical in nature.  

I have been playing them for many years now and am considered by some to be a "Master".  I'm not sure about that, but I do know that my name , Crystal Heart, makes perfect sense.

About Crystal Bowls:

Crystal bowls are 98-99% quartz crystal.  They were originally produced for the computer industry as crucibles to grow silicon wafers in.  Someone must have tapped one at some point and discovered the incredible chime-like quality.  Now, they are produced for their unique sound and sold to musicians and to people in the metaphysical community world wide.

Sound Healing:

The human body is a great conductor of sound because we are mostly water.  Sound will hit us at a cellular level.  We are bombarded all day, every day, with all sorts of sound,  most of which is not good for us.  We are meant to hear the movement of the air in the trees, the sound of the ocean, birds singing, or children laughing, but what we hear in our modern world, unless you are lucky enough to live in the country, is the sound of traffic, sirens and the hum of electricity.  The sound produced by crystal bowls is a very high vibrational sound and the human body will entrain with it quickly and easily.  If it is perfect pitch, then each aspect of the body that is "out of tune" with dis-ease will entrain with the sound, raising the vibration to match the perfect pitch.  That is where the healing takes place.

I have witnessed amazing healing with the crystal bowls.  However, what I witness most often is people being "lifted", deeply relaxed and with a heightened sense of well-being.  Most people look younger, eyes look clearer and they feel as though they have just had an extraordinary experience.

One hour CD/three tracks

About the CD:

My CD is 60 minutes long and is in three tracks,  the first two are bowls only and the last one is me chanting with the bowls.  The playing of the bowls and the chanting was totally intuitive and Spirit guided.  Part of my training with sound was to learn to be a "hollow tube" and be able to set my mental process aside and simply allow Spirit to take over.  I a very pleased with the result.  I was also blessed to be able to record this CD in a professional studio with state-of-the-art equipment.  The quality of the CD is very good.

This CD has been used by numerous massage therapists and has also been used by several midwifes as background to the birthing process.  Babies have come into the world hearing MY CRYSTAL BOWLS!!!!! It totally makes me humble and happy.

The bowls are set up in my home.  The room that use to be the dining room is now all bowls and other sound instruments.  I do take appointments for private sound sessions and also do meditational events with the bowls.  Sometimes, I have events in my home with groups of people ,or, I take them to other locations.  Although, I  can't take all 18 bowls since some of them are just to big and heavy for me to transport.  Yoga studios are one of my favorite places for me to play.  I love the sound going through the wood floors and moving through such a " sound-live" spaces.

If you are interested in booking a session or attending an event, contact me a margaret@margaretjoyceart.com

Blessings of Light, Love and Laughter

Margaret Joyce

Grandmother Crystal Heart

Adventures in Fiber

I have said previously that my primary goal is to be in balance within myself  and with the world around me, and for me, listening to Spirit and working with my hands keeps me in balance.  I am so happy when I am creating something that is three dimensional that I can actually hold in my hand.  Color and texture are inspirational and what can be created is only limited by imagination.

How it started:

Several years ago I encountered needle felting for the first time.  If you are not familiar with needle felting (lots of people are not),  needle felting is a process of interlocking wool fibers with a long, very sharp, barbed needle.  For this process you use short fiber wool roving as in wool that has been washed, possibly dyed and carded but not spun into yarn.  The wool is in a soft billowy state.  As you run the felting needle through the wool, the fibers catch on the barbs and the fibers start interlocking making the wool tighter and firmer.  This process can be used several ways.  You can do a flat piece like a wall hanging, embellish clothing or actually create a three dimensional fiber sculpture.  I am creating sculptures with a single needle and wool roving.

How the craft takes over:

Working with the fiber to create original dolls, animals and fantasy creations have become a passion for me.  I now work on eggs during the day in the studio and work on felting in the evening in our "media room"  (my son's old bedroom).  The "media room) has now become my needle felting studio and is packed with stacks of plastic tubs holding the massive amount of wool that I have collected.  Wool is dyed in many wonderful colors and combinations of colors and I just keep adding to the collection......because you never know when you will need that exact color.  I have thought about dying my own, but so much of our house/studio is dedicated to art, there just isn't any room to add another process.

I have found some wonderful suppliers who have everything you could possibly want in the way of roving.  My tow favorites are Living Felt and Opulent Fibers, although I often peruse through suppliers on Easy as well.  There are some wonderful things out there.
 
As with all the things that I create, I approach needle felting with the same intention and connection to Spirit.  Some of my little Goddess figures even contain a packet similar to what goes into the eggs.I put all the "medicines" onto a piece of roving, felt it into a little oval shape and then felt the figure around that.  There are bigger figures that are suitable  for putting on an altar, or to be used as a talking stick at a women's circle.  "Please Pass the Goddess".  There are also little goddess figures that I call "Pocket Goddess"  that hold prayers, come in a little silk bag with a certificate listing what is inside.  It's a sweet gift.                   Pacha Mama-Earth Mother..............

All my figures, animals land dolls are original, one of a kind, fiber sculptures.  The designs are totally my own creations.  Lately I have had a passion for creating Dragons and have been working on an Elemental series.  So far I have done Earth, Fire and Water Dragons and still have Air Dragon to do.  It has been a challenge figuring out how to create them and the Air Dragon is the biggest challenge yet.  So watch for the Air Dragon to be coming soon..........Fingers Crossed!!!!!
Here's the Fire Dragon.

One of the most recent dragons was created while at Oregon Country Fair.  The wool was purchased there from a vendor at the fair.  I like to sit and work on a project while people go by.  Such interesting conversations from all sorts of people.  Little kids like to watch and hope that you might give it to them, grown men stopped because they were intrigued by the stabbing motion of the needle and fellow crafter/artists stopped just to visit and investigate a new
craft.  Lots of Waldorf folks (Waldorf schools teach felting) pointed out the needle felting to their kids, hopefully, to give them inspiration.  It was fun and the dragon turned out well.  I gave him a crystal point to hold.  He is pictured at the beginning of this blog.


The Adventure Expands:

After needle felting for a couple years, I started to experiment with wet felting.  Wet felting is a process that interlocks fibers using soapy water and agitation.  Learning this process has enabled me to expand what I am able to create.  Some of the dragons have wet felted wings and some of the doll's clothing is at least partially wet felted.  Lately, I have been creating felted fascinators, hats and headbands.  Take a peek at a couple fascinators........     Yummy!













That's it for now.
Love Light and Laughter to All
Margaret Joyce

It's All About The Eggs

I strive to be in balance within myself and with everything in my world.  (All That Is) that is my primary goal, and, I believe that is my primary purpose as well.  For if I am in balance, then that which is around me has the opportunity to be in balance as well.  For me, listening to Spirit, creating things with my hands and expressing myself through sound, keep me in balance.

The things that I create go in many directions, from fine art, jewelry, working with glass, to felting and, of course, the eggs!  My favorite quote is:  "The important thing is to work in a state of mind that approaches prayer"  Henri Matisse.  I use that quote often and it is a sentiment that I firmly believe.  For many years now, I have been creating art with a spiritual theme that is imbued with prayer and intention.

Duck egg with Amethyst cluster

How I started making eggs:

Eight years or so ago I started experimenting with decorating eggs.  I had been inspired by an exhibit at the Portland Art Museum that featured some Faberge eggs from the Hess family collection.  The gift shop was festooned with hanging egg ornaments that attracted my attention.  The eggs were lightweight glass ornaments that had been hand painted in China and were VERY expensive.  On closer inspection I realized that they were very crudely painted and in the words of crafters everywhere.....I said "I can do better than this".  The first eggs were pretty, ornamental and a little bit Easter-like.  The eggs were blown, sanded, then painted with flowers and lattice designs in pastel colors with a pretty ribbon loop on the top to hang it with.  I was pretty pleased with myself and with the results.

My daughter came for a visit shortly after I started my exploration with decorative eggs and I proudly showed her what I was doing.  She liked them but said...."Mom, you've got to crack them".....Hmmmmmmmmmmm.  How do you make a decorative egg and then crack it?  So more experimentation with so-so results and then...one day I picked up a Drummel tool and drilled a big opening in the front of the egg.  Revelation!!! The egg was a vessel that could contain anything.  At that point Spirit was definitely guiding the process.  For years now it has been "all about the eggs".  The final result is an egg that looks like it is in the process of hatching jewelry.  I like to think it is a metaphor for breaking through the shell or barriers around us in order for the light and beauty within us to shine out.

Duck egg with Tangerine Quartz

So, for the last 8 years I have been producing what I call "Goddess Eggs".  I try and use eggs from organic free range birds,  but some of the eggs come from sources that I have no idea, like ostrich and quail eggs.  But the duck, goose and chicken eggs are all locally sourced and I am sure they come from happy birds.  I even have a source for some exotic eggs like pheasant, and peahen (peacock) from a friend who raises them.


 Most of the shells I use start out as fresh eggs that must be blown, cleaned, sanded and then painted.  The eggs are then put together in a "Medicine way" as a sacred object.  this means that they are smudged and every step of their creation is done with prayer and intention.  I even sing into them and to them as I work on them.  It is a very meditational practice.

What goes into an egg:

I constantly collect things to go into the eggs and have been gifted often by people who give me things for the eggs.  Things that range from items collected from sacred sites all over the world, healing or blessed water and totem energies.  At this point I have a huge inventory of "energies" for the eggs.

All the eggs the following:  Lavender for sweetness (bridal lavender), rose petals of beauty (valentine roses), white copal for protection, purification, consecration and frankincense & myrrh for spirituality.  A piece of corn for creativity (Green Corn Ceremony), mustard seed for faith, snake skin for transformation and heron medicine for balance and ability to see through illusion.  A piece of Magnetite stone for grounding and integration of subtle energies.  After that, each egg receives an affirmation, something special at the very center and finally, a prayer, in the form of a tobacco prayer. At this point the egg is sealed and set with gemstones or crystals (sometimes both) and rhinestones.

Each egg is given a number and a certificate.  The certificate lists all the energies that went into the egg and the final prayer.  The egg is a vessel of creation.  A promise from the divine creative source that life continues with all its diversity, abundance and beauty.  Each egg holds prayers of health, balance, peace, love, prosperity and transformation.  It holds a vibration that is intended to facilitate connection to your highest expression of self.  Each one is unique inside and out and is just waiting for the right person to claim it.  It is fun to see where they go and who is drawn to specific ones.

The egg as a vessel
Custom Eggs:

Many times during the last eight years I have been asked to create eggs for special occasions.  Sometimes as a gift for someone's wedding, a new baby, to mark a significant event or birthday.  Many, many eggs have been created for people, especially women, to mark their 50th, 60th, or 65th birthday.  I call these "Eldership" eggs and they are a great honor to produce.  Eggs have also been used to hold ashes, pet and people.  I have created memory eggs, containing baby teeth, locks of hair, pictures and many other little memory mementos all sealed up in a beautiful bejeweled egg.  If a custom egg is something you might be interested in, please contact me at margaretjoyce@me.com

Guinea egg with Peridot

Some custom eggs are ordered by people for themselves.  The process for a custom egg is a little different.  I do a series of readings and then create the egg according to the information I receive.  These eggs, and the regular eggs that I do, are all intended to be tools for transformation.  Through the years I have come to trust the process as I have so many affirmations of their effect.  It's Earth Magic!

If a custom egg is something you might be interested in, please contact me at margaretjoyce@me.com

The some eggs are available on ETSY.. and...Drumroll please.........my NEW WEBSITE  IS COMING!!!  It will have the eggs and all my other art too.   It is almost done and ready to go.

If you are in the Portland, Oregon area, they are available at Celestial Awakenings, 7831 S. E. Stark
If you are in the Sebastopol, California area, they will soon be  (again)at Milk and Honey on Main St.

Blessings of Light, Love and Laughter
Margaret Joyce
Grandmother Crystal Heart

Goose egg with Fluorite

Goose egg with American Turquoise

Goose egg with Pink Tourmaline

Goose Egg with Lapis Lazuli

Goose egg with Charoite