Judy Corlett

When I was small and we would go to visit nez perce relatives in Idaho and Montana, I remember seeing strange and wonderful ropes with found objects hanging in doorways and windows. The rope was usually baling twine or cotton kitchen string– sometimes fencing wire or sinew- and the attached pieces were what people found along the roadside or out in the woods, these sculptural, vertical ropes were added to and changed, new ropes with amulets and rusted scraps appeared from time to time. They were very intriguing to me- to all little kids and visitors. These threshold guardians are meant to keep the home free from turmoil.