Magnet Monday: Tubac

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, April 27, 2015
"Tubac, AZ", Native American wedding vase, hand-painted ceramic, circa 2004

The wedding vase has a long tradition among many tribes. The shape is pretty similar: two spouts symbolizing the two people sharing vows, and the one handle uniting them together. Designs vary by tribe and Pueblo. Tradition holds that the groom's family makes the vessel and offers it as a gift to the bride. 

We picked this magnet up on my first visit to Arizona and my first chance to meet my now-husband's parents. You could argue that the design comes from the Sonoran desert around where the groom's parents live, and that it was made near the groom's parents home. Almost tradition. 


Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Magnet Monday: Underground

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, February 2, 2015
"Kartchner Caverns State Park", Enamel on metal, 3D sproingy bat, circa 2009

In honor or Groundhog Day, an homage to another subterrainian denizen. Kartchner Caverns has been meticulously managed to ensure the long-term health of the underground ecosystem. Entry is through a series of air locks because the only open-air entrance is large enough only for the bats. 

This is one of my favorite magnets. The 3D aspect with the bat out on a sproingy spring is great fun :)  

Experimenting with video. The focus fade out at the end was an artistic choice made by the HD camera on my phone... not sure why...

We visited the caverns on a family trip; would love to visit again. 

Kartchner Caverns, Arizona State Parks 

Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Magnet Monday: A-maze-ing I'itoi

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, January 19, 2015
"I'itoi", Man in the Maze, carved and painted wood, circa 2012

The legend of the Man in the Maze* has to do with the the creator god I'itoi and his house (either a floorplan of it, or a map to it), but many focus directly on the maze and less so on I'itoi. The maze represents your life journey to whatever goal that resides in the center, and the labyrinth represents all the experiences and choices you make along the way. At very center is the opportunity to reflect on your life's labyrinth before passing to the next. I prefer to think that paths to many goals in life make each their own labyrinth, and a chance to reflect and learn from them. 

Family visiting the Tohono O'odham Cultural Center in Arizona picked this up for us. Hopefully we'll be able to visit the center ourselves on one of our trips.



*There's more to the legend of I'itoi. Traditional stories tell that he was capricious and unkind. He brought ancestral Tohono O'odham peoples out from the earth, then tried to kill them all. He brought war to the peoples, but also the Himdag, a set of guiding principles for people to live in balance with the world. A sort of mischievous good cop, bad cop. And sounding very human for a god. 

Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.