The story.

John Davis and daughters hiking in Big Bend National Park Once upon a time, in a land far far away….

Ceramic artist, John Davis, was born and raised in Alpine, Texas. Located in the land of the Chihuahuan Desert and the playful Marfa Lights, the vast and high desert is fertile with inspiration. John’s art carries with it a sense rich with history and the rustic romance of the area‘s isolated, and primitive beauty.

Inspiration for John’s Raku pottery came from watching his young daughters digging for “treasures” with their toy shovels in the prairie around their home.

The girls’ trappings – unusual rocks, rusted horseshoes, tarnished coins – discovered on territory once roamed by nomadic Indians, African American Buffalo Soldiers, and Mexican revolutionaries, led John to create work that epitomized the soul and culture of the land.

Rattles were one of the earliest rhythm-making musical instruments. Handcrafted from inventive materials by resourceful peoples, rattle artifacts discovered by archaeologists are testament to the innovation and resiliency of humankind, and to the strength of the human spirit.

Remote and mountainous with uncluttered skies and wide-open spaces, Alpine, TX, is close to Big Bend National Park. The peacefulness of this vast desert region has curious ways of reinforcing faith, dredging up unfamiliar inner strength, and sparking a deep appreciation of even the smallest things in life. This feeling is a gift that may be (just maybe) captured inside each handmade innerSpirit Rattle.

Raku pottery is pulled from a fiery kiln and placed inside a metal can with a combustible material that immediately ignites. Lack of oxygen and smoke react with the glaze creating an unpredictable one-of-a-kind surface. Even though the raku firing process originated in Japan, the rustic look creates the essence of an ancient civilization, like an artifact unearthed from a primitive Indian campground around the Rio Grande riverbed in Big Bend.

When picked up from their nestling spot on a desk or vanity, innerSpirit Rattles have tiny balls tucked inside a pillow of clay that make a soft soothing sound. This simple percussion instrument is a subtle reminder of humanity’s musical connection and of humankind’s resiliency throughout time.

Native Americans used rattles to bestow blessings upon their crops. Use your innerSpirit Rattle to help rattle some rain into your life, some rain out of your life, to rattle your worries away, or just to keep your papers from blowing astray. Shake to the rhythm of your favorite music, or to the beat of your own drum.

innerSpirit Rattles and Raku Ornaments are sold in retail boutique gift shops and American craft galleries across the United States.