"I thoroughly enjoy roaming our coastal beaches to collect moon snail, oyster & clam shells. I have my own special ritual to assure that I'm as eco-friendly as possible. Each shell is examined for any life, and everything that can be, is left to the sea. I rinse the shells with sea water to make sure crabs and limpits and baby starfish are washed out too. Then off to the studio to begin creating the rattle. I work with leather, deer and goat hide, and organic soy beans for the music. In the final steps, a gem is added to focus the natural energy of the shell and some are painted with intuitive images."