The Tribal Dream Catcher is a symbol of Native American / First Nations culture, originating with the Obijwe (Chippewa) tribe of Southern Canada and the Northern-Midwestern United States. It was a carefully hand-crafted item used to protect children from harm; not just physical harm like illness, but metaphysical, in the form of evil spirits. Today, most of us believe - as the name implies - that they will protect and safeguard our dreams.
I've designed this piece of tribal art for a number of reasons. It is an emblem close to my heart, being of Native American descent myself. I used to make dream catchers with my mother years ago. Now, I'm just making them in a different format. This model is not just a dreamcatcher, either. It's a suncatcher and, as an outdoor decoration, also like a wind chime (minus the music). It is double-sided and ultra-thin so that, if hung outside in a lawn or garden setting, its translucency will mimic the effects of stained glass. It makes a beautiful ornament for indoor and outdoor use, hanging over a bed or in a window, from a tree or shepherd's hook.
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
There are a total of 8 STL files in the zipped folder. You will need to print them out as follows. I'm noting the colors I used for reference to the images, but you can change them to your liking.
Note that the files outside the Zip folder (Dream Catcher BASE and FEATHER) are for cults3D display purposes only, and are not meant to be printed.
Dream Catcher - Top (x1)
Black
Dream Catcher - Bottom (x1)
Black
Dream Catcher - Inside Colors (x8)
I printed x2 of these in each color, using 4 shades of blue.
Dream Catcher - Outside Colors (x8)
I printed x4 in purple, x4 white.
Dream Catcher - Feather Top (x3)
Black
Dream Catcher - Feather Bottom (x3)
Black
Dream Catcher - Feather Color 1 (x3)
White
Dream Catcher - Feather Color 2 (x3)
I chose the second-darkest color blue for this.
Now for the fun part. Think of this as a 30-piece puzzle, except easier because you already know where all of the pieces go.
The Dream Catcher Bottom has recessed areas that each Inside Color and Outside Color will fit neatly into. Use tiny dots of glue around the edges to hold these in place as you go. Do the same with the Outside Color. Next, apply lots of tiny dots of glue to the under-side of the Dream Catcher Top, and line it up over the Bottom and Middle sections. Use office clips, clothes pins or clamps to hold it together, allowing at least a few hours to dry.
In the meantime, you have 3 feathers to assemble. The process is the same. The Bottom section has recessed indents to hold the inside colors of the feather. Use a little glue to secure them, then align the Top piece, clamp it together, and allow ample time to dry.
Once your base and three feathers are all done and dried, it's time to attach them together. You can use black string or clear fishing line if you have it handy. I happen to have 100+ keyrings lying around from past printing projects, so I used three of those to connect the feathers.
I hope you enjoy building and admiring the Tribal Dream Catcher / Sun Catcher as much as I have.
If you like the sunflower, be sure to check out other pieces in the Stained Glass Series:
DIMENSIONS
Fully assembled, the stained glass dream catcher indoor/outdoor decoration measures:
X = 18.0cm / 7.1in
Y = 34.4cm / 13.54in
Z = 0.35cm / 0.14in
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