I just got back to the Art Jewelry offices after spending a week in Western Montana — a place that I'm convinced is the most beautiful landscape on Earth. (I'm sure there are other regions that might also plausibly lay claim to the title, and all I can say is, I'd really enjoy doing the footwork to determine the winner!)

One of the places we stopped on our road trip was the Museum of the Plains Indians in Browning. The building is modest and unprepossessing, but contains a fascinating collection of artifacts and artwork extending back two centuries from the Blackfeet, Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Assiniboine, Arapaho, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Flathead, Chippewa, and Cree peoples. The samples of different types of beadwork were simply stunning. Among the jewelry, however, the necklace made of a complete set of grizzly bear claws made the greatest impression on me. Imagining the animal who once possessed those daggers... it was no wonder that the necklace would be a trophy to be worn proudly, a visual reminder of a hunter's skill and courage.

On our way out, we stopped in the museum store, which offers current work by contemporary Native American artisans. I bought a piece of jewelry, of course — a lovely pair of brightly colored hoop earrings. The maker had split and dyed porcupine quills, then wrapped them around a wooden armature; a modern variation on the traditional porcupine-quill jewelry and adorned clothing seen in the museum displays. The result is an eye-catching splash of color with practically no weight at all.