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In many of the pieces you see
in the gallery, wire is background and the beads are foreground.
From my perspective the wire is the stage and the real excitement
occurs when the beads walk out. Given this bias, you will not
be surprised when I say that color is my number one design consideration.
I have organized my beads in compartments according to the color
wheel - this helps me put together interesting, harmonious combinations
(see "Bead Compartments" section of the tour). I also
created the above color wheel with beads of varying saturations,
and values with tints and shades. Saturation refers to the purity
of a color, the amount of gray it contains. Value is the lightness
or darkness of a color. A tint is a color with white added and
a shade has black added. Having this rich, diverse palette
to work from is critical to my design work.
When hunting for beads, the earthy,
handmade, not so perfect beads simply leap out of their little
bins into my hands. Beads need to have character, to transmit
the essence of their culture, and the craftsmanship of their
creator. Any media is possible in my book - bone, glass,
clay, metal, polymer, horn - the list is endless.
Africa inspires me beyond words.
The color of African adornment is rich, opulent, and exotic.
The people wear jewelry in such a free, spontaneous and exuberant
manner - one more necklace is never too much - and their choices
are bold and fearless. When I hit a creative wall the photographs
of "Africa Adorned" by Angela Fisher, and "African
Ceremonies" by Angela and Carol Beckwith are sure fire remedies. Because
of my love of Africa you will note many African beads, both trade
and indigenous, in my work. |
