If you ever see me at an art show, you’ll hear me tell you
to touch the beads! There’s just
something about how those smooth glass shapes call to be touched. I create jewelry, sculpture and beaded
“paintings”, all with tiny seed beads, needle and thread (very strong
thread!). It’s very time-consuming, but
also very meditative. I call it my
therapy work, and it truly is.
My bead story starts at least 45 years ago. Several years ago my mother gave me a
necklace I had beaded for her while I was in high school. The beads were tarnished, but the necklace
was still holding up. I rediscovered
beading about 25 years ago, convincing my then-boyfriend to build me a beading
loom. I still have that loom… but the
boyfriend is long gone! Over the years I’ve
honed my craft, and added several types of jewelry, beaded sculpture and beaded
“pictures”, examples of all can be seen in The Arts Connection Gallery.
The Tree Spirits came about after years of seeing beautiful chunks
of wood on my property, broken branches and small pieces left over from tree
trimming. The pieces of juniper and
pinon pine were beautifully seasoned by years of sun and snow, the bark long
gone, and the wood silvered with age. I
add beads and a face (or two or three!), and the wood expresses its personality
and whimsey… and tells me its name!
