In Corning, NY, at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, is a 200 year retrospective of Haudenosaunee beadworkers, who created pieces of beadwork for the tourist trade. There is only one picture of a pincushion (I’ve seen several pieces at a local museum, one piece here in an earlier blog entry), but there are more than 100 pieces on exhibit until October 4th.
Tags: museum
And something else I really want to see! In Singapore, a 1.6 meter x 1.6 meter Peranaken beadwork tablecloth was recently restored. It’s an early twentieth century beaded artifact — ornate bead-embroidered Victorian flowers and birds likely commissioned by a wealthy family for special occasions. I read that Peranaken are descendants of Chinese immigrants. I found an article here with one closeup picture, and a video here. It’s on display at the Peranaken Museum until July 23rd, then on to Paris.
Tags: museum
I’ve written before about Murphy; she won best of show and second place at the last Heard Museum Fair and Market. She’s an Oglala bead artist from Montana, and I have seen one of her pieces in person at a museum here in Minnesota. I just learned that she is part of an exhibit named Molly Murphy and Friends, at the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture in Bozeman, MT. The show continues until July 24th. I’d really love to see it.
Tags: Artists
I’ve made a couple more fans, and did some temporary stringing. This is the general idea, with fans of beads and these stained glass components. I’ll likely reverse the fans so that the wide side is nearest the pendant. The fans incorporate different colors of size 11 seed beads, and I’ll try various layouts to make it balanced, but not symmetrical.
So here are options that I’m considering for the fans. I can overlap/crowd them (the two on the left), or separate them (the two on the right). I can string the dark ab seed beads between the size 8 chartreuse green beads like the one on the right — or not, like the others.
Part of the requirements of the Beading for a Cure project is that I use all the beads that come in the kit. If I use the dark seed beads as separators/spacers, I have used that bead. There are two 4mm Swarovski bicones, which I will string between the fans. The rose montees will be used like the image below (glued? wired?). The beading wire will be crimped on the loops soldered on the stained glass.
Finally, these are the beads remaining. I *think* I have the rose montees figured out. The lampwork bead will be a counterbalance on the back. The 3mm jonquil Swarovskis and the black hex beads do not yet have a home, but will find one with the lampwork if necessary. The yellow of the Swarovskis is very light, and lost if I string them between the fans. The hex beads have incredibly sharp edges, and I don’t want to use them IN the fans because they will cut the thread.
I’d love to have any comments about the combining of the fans - use the dark seed bead between the 8s or not? Crowd the fans, or separate them? I’ll make more fans, and see what happens.
Tags: bfac, right angle weave
Rock art (rock painting or carving/chipping) is more common in drier regions of the country than the Upper Midwest — more exposed rock! It was a treat to see rock art on a recent trip; the most notable location was Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument in Utah.
Newspaper Rock includes rock art from 2000 to 900 years ago, likely from the Archaic, Basketmaker, Fremont, Pueblo, Utahs and Navajo groups of Native Americans. Meanings and reasons for these carvings aren’t really known. Images are chipped through the dark desert varnish (minerals darkening the surface of the rock) into the lighter-colored sandstone.
Here are some images of Newspaper Rock, click to enlarge: (The 3rd picture is a closeup)
Translator
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  | ||
| By N2H | |||||||