One of things that I've been enjoying while embarking on this project is going through all my beads. I like to think of the places I got them and the people I've met along the way. Whenever I'm making things, particularly things that are to be worn, I try to focus all my positive intentions and good energy into the pieces. I want people to carry all that good with them. In these pieces, I've had fun mixing and matching all the different beads that have been collected over the years. This necklace features carved bone from India, seed beads from Japan, fossilized conch shell and lapis beads from Tibet, a toggle made in Thailand by way of Ohio, and carnelian nuggets I found in Tucson.
I was first drawn to beads because of all the stories. Body adornment is one of the oldest signifiers of human civilization. It predates written language and appears in every culture. Even in the most impoverished communities or ones with minimalistic aesthetics, there's some form of jewelry. And all those things have stories. I like the idea that as a designer, I'm making my own stories and using all these pieces and parts and creating another story that the wearer will carry with them in their own stories. This necklace features very old Venetian glass that was once traded for gold, serpentine, African glass, bone, resin amber from Nepal, and Hebron Kano African glass. It's said that the Hebron beads were made in the 1800's. This necklace represents a global exchange of ideas across the ages.
1 comment:
Dear Andrew, once again, you inspire me on so many levels. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And keep up this beautiful work. Your challenge to yourself is an act of faith.
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