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	Eye of God (Ojo de Dios)

     

See the String Chapter for more instructions, hints, tips, and ideas.

The Ojo de Dios or Eye of God is a symbol of the power of seeing and understanding unknown things. It is commonly found among the Huichol Indians of northwestern Mexico. The four points represent earth, fire, air, and water. In making an Ojo, we are expressing a prayer that the eye of God will watch over us (or the person we are making it for) and grant us (them) health, fortune, and a long life. The Ojo becomes a physical representation of the prayer.

These neckerchief slides are great for wearing to Scout Sunday, religious retreats, or any other religious activity. They also make great Girl Scout SWAPS. They are so easy to make that you could make a lot of them to hand out as rewards. They also come in handy to fill out an extra few minutes at the end of a meeting. Ahead of time just glue the wooden sticks together (using hot glue) and cut the string or yarn to the correct length and wrap it loosely around the sticks. Larger ones made with Popsicle sticks and yarn make good presents, maybe as a service project to give to the residents of a nursing home.

Hints:

• You may find that winding the string around an old film canister makes the work easier by keeping the string free from tangles. Take the lid off the film canister and put one end of the string inside. Put the lid back on. Now wind the string around the film canister. You can easily hold the film canister in one hand and pull off just the right amount of string at a time.
• Younger children may find it easier if you pre-glue the sticks. Use hot glue or white glue.
• Tie the knots for those not familiar with square knots.
• The finer the string, the more wraps required, and the harder it is to make.
• Yarn or thick string makes for fewer wraps. This is easier for younger children and takes less time.
• For very young children, get behind them, hold both of their hands and guide them through the wrapping and rotating process. Four year olds can make a very nice looking one with experienced help.

Instructions:

1. Tie the string around the two sticks at their middle using a square knot. Put a little glue on the knot and rub it into the knot with your fingers - this will make the knot hold better. Trim off excess string.
2. Hold sticks to form an "X" - that is the sticks will be perpendicular to each other.
3. Cover the middle of the sticks by wrapping the string diagonally around both sticks a couple times. Next, wrap diagonally in the other direction a couple times. String should form an "X" and hold the sticks in the shape of an "X".
4. Now start the looping pattern, as illustrated below. Hold the sticks gently where they cross. Loop string around one stick as close to the middle as you can get it. Rotate the project 90°. Now loop around the next stick. Make sure the string is firm, but not too tight. If the string is too tight, you can break the sticks. Neatness counts, you will make a much prettier Ojo if you take your time and make sure the string is tight and that each loop is laid right up against the previous one. Don't be afraid to undo part of your work to straighten out a string.
   
5. Keep each loop as close to the loop from the previous time around as you can.
6. Try to keep the sticks at right angles to each other by adjusting the tension in each loop. This is VERY important at the beginning of the wrapping. If two sticks are too close, spread them apart so they form an angle of more than 90° and then continue wrapping. Keep adjusting as needed to make the sticks intersect at right angles.
7. Rotate the project 90° after each loop. By rotating the project, you make the loops with your hands in the same place and this will help keep the string tension uniform.
8. Continue the process of going over the next stick, wrapping around, rotating project 90°. Keep working until most of the sticks are covered.
9. To finish the project, tie an overhand knot in the end of the string and slip it over the last stick you wrapped. Pull it tight to get out any slack. Put a drop of glue on the knot and rub it into the knot with your finger. Or put a drop of hot glue on the back of the stick and press the end of the string into it with the tip of the hot glue gun.
10. Trim off any loose string ends.

If you don't have enough string, or you want to make a multi-color Ojo, strings can be tied together using a square knot. The knot will be wider than the rest of the string so it will tend to go behind the adjacent strings and thus will not be visible from the front. Put a drop of glue on the knot and rub it into the knot. Leave the loose ends of the string attached and keep them on the back side of the project - this will ensure that when you do cut off the ends, that the remaining string will be out of sight on the back of the project.

Ojos can also be made using about 10' of plastic craft strip instead of string. Secure the beginning of the craft strip with a piece of thin wire. Use hot glue or E-6000™ to secure the end of the craft strip.

To make a neckerchief slide, use a heart shaped PVC ring and glue with hot glue or E-6000™. If you want to use an oval shaped PVC ring, hot glue it to the stick that it lying on top. Another option is to attached the ring using a 3" piece of thin wire.

To make an ornament, tie a string to the top of the stick or make a loop out of the last of the string.

Make a Girl Scout SWAP by sliding a safety pin on the end of the string before you tie it off with an overhand knot. Use superglue to secure the knot since it will have a lot more tension than normal. Also, a pin clasp could be glued to the back in the same manner as the PVC ring.

Ojo de Dios can be made into much larger decorations using craft sticks or dowel rods and rope or yarn. They can also be made with three or more sticks and even in three dimensions.

Cotton crochet thread works real well. Rayon tends to stretch AFTER it is on the project, so avoid it.

The children I have taught this to really enjoy it and almost never tire of making them. Once they get the idea of how to make them, they can do it almost unsupervised. They love to experiment using several pieces of different colored string.

Feathers and beads can be attached to the ends of the sticks using string to decorate it more.

For a really flashy God's Eye, try some of the multi-colored string or metalic string that is available.

See the references below for different ideas and styles of wrapping. With some practice, you can make some really incredible projects.

REFERENCES:
Ojo De Dios * Eye of God by Charlet Albaum
The Regional Creative Ojo Book by Diane Thomas