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Exhibitions at
The Bead Museum
Trajectories: Progressions
in Contemporary Art Glass Beads
September 15, 2006 - March 30, 2007
 Hushed
exclamations of wonder could be heard as visitors wandered the
miniature sparkling city of art glass beads at the
Trajectories exhibit opening on September 15th. A
chuckle floated in the air at the humor of Sharon Peter's bead
"Trajectories: Checker Cab to Mars," with its tiny yellow and black
checkered rocket ship blasting away from the glass globe of the
earth, or a gasp of amazement at the intricacies of the serene face
looking out from the gold frame in the portrait piece The Saint Mary
by artist Wakana Takahashi.
 Trajectories, a joint
exhibition by the International Society of Glass Beadmakers and the
Bead Museum, celebrates the founding of the ISGB and the 20th
anniversary of the Bead Museum by Gabrielle Liese. In
addition, Trajectories is the inaugural exhibition in the brand new
gallery space added to the museum by the City of Glendale during our
recent expansion project.
Following is a small sampling
of the glorious beads in this exhibition. To see all the beads
and learn more about the artists, please visit the exhibition in
Glendale, AZ or as it travels, or purchase a
catalog from the Museum Store.
 Chinese
New Year Dragon
by: Sharon Peters
Lampworked glass bead with inset eyes, various sculptural
techniques. Hole is vertical: inspired by a fancy chopstick
cover. Created in 2005.
Looking Glass
by: Karl and Krista Tseu
A magnificent cold worked
lapidary focal bead constructed of a metallic bronzed exterior and a
gorgeous floral cylinder within a clear glass matrix. Created
in 2005.
 Unicorn
by: Lucio Bubacco
Lampworked batuto, a cold-working engraving technique.
Created in 2005.
 Cuttlefish
Containing Forest of Fungi
by: Akiko Isono
Lampworked,sculpted, encased, using soda lime glass. Created
in 2005.
 Interpretation
of Ancient Warring States
by: Dustin Tabor
Lampworked Effetre glass. Created in 2005.
 Flower
Garden
by: Pati Walton
Lampworked glass.
 A
Date of Goldfish
by: Rinako Suzuki
Dotting, drawing. Created in 2005.
 Mosaic
Jazz Window
by: Art Seymour A
combination of the Jazz series and the Window series.
Decorated with mosaic canes made at the furnace. Prepared
sections of the bead are assembled in the torch then reground and
polished.
For more information on the ISGB,
visit their site at www.isgb.org.
Trajectories was
created by The Bead Museum and will travel widely after it closes on
March 30. If your institution is interested in hosting this
exquisite exhibition, please contact the Executive Director of ISGB,
Gwynne Rukenbrod at 614.830.0701.
Click here for more information.
nyama: The Vital Force in
African Ceremony
April 2006 - April 2007
 Featuring
ritual objects, textiles, beads, clothing and beaded artifacts,
nyama: The Vital Force in African Ceremony takes the visitor on
an awe-inspiring journey through the transitional life ceremonies of
various African cultures.
Ritual or ceremony is an extremely important part of all of the
African cultures and is one of the oldest forms of human activity.
It marks the passage from one life stage to another in a series of
cyclical events that ensure the unification of the entire community,
affirms its values and traditions, and promotes the continuation of
each culture. Nyama, or the vital force found in all living things,
is imparted to the objects used in rituals and ceremonies such as
masks, sculptures, and beads.
 The
objects featured in nyama: The Vital Force in African Ceremony
are all drawn from musical ritual performance, traditional dance and
from the objects and adornments worn and carried in everyday life.
They represent a cross section of the rich cultural heritage of the
over 1,000 ethnic groups in Africa.
(sponsored by Arizona Commission on the Arts,
Arizona Community Foundation, and the Northern California Bead
Society)
Honoring Others, Honors
Ourselves: Traditional Apache Beadwork
September 2006 - April, 2007
 This
exhibition in the Museum lobby has been extended through April.
It focuses on the beaded T-necklaces worn by White Mountain Apache
girls during their Sunrise Ceremony at puberty. Also included
in the exhibit are examples of men's beaded pouches and a tribute to
writer Michael Lacapa for his literary and personal contributions to
his people. The exhibit was inspired by Lacapa's philosophy of
giving honor to all things large and small as seen in his book
"Antelope Woman."
 Beadwork
continues to be an important part of Apache life. The
T-Necklace became an essential part of the Changing Woman ceremony
just after the 1900s. T-Necklaces sometimes incorporate
traditional Apache colors that are also associated with the 4
earthly directions: east, yellow; south, white; west, blue or green;
north, black; as well as colors to symbolize sunset. These
color combinations continue to be incorporated into many Apache
beaded ceremonial clothes, ritual objects and the womens
traditional camp dresses.
Many American Indian societies,
such as the Western Apache peoples of eastern Arizona, believe in
the interconnectedness of all life. This awareness and the
following of their cosmology guides them in how to conduct
themselves in harmony and balance within the universe. These beliefs
may be practiced through communal ritual and ceremony, storytelling
and creative, visual expressions that influence their daily lives.
Beads: Timeless
Treasures
Phoenix
Sky Harbor International Airport is home to one of the largest
airport art programs in the United States with a collection of more
than 200 works and changing exhibit spaces in terminal 2, 3 and 4 as
well as Deer Valley and Goodyear.
Sponsored by the City of Phoenix Aviation Department, the Sky Harbor
Art Program showcases Arizona's unique artistic and cultural
heritage.
Beads can be traced back 30,000 years and to many cultures and
regions. Originally, items such as shells, animal teeth, ivory,
rocks and seeds were pierced and strung to become the first beads.
These items might express a persons uniqueness, serve as a talisman
or be used as a form of currency. Glass beads came much later. Until
4500 years ago, glass came from lightening strikes, volcanic
eruptions or meteorite impacts. Initially, humans used glass to
imitate gemstones, but then glass itself became precious, a symbol
of wealth and status.
The modern era of beadwork began around 1480 when Venetians learned
to create glass tubes and turn them into beads. From Venice, trade
routes passed to the east into China, south into Africa and west
into the Americas. Because Venetians did not disclose their secrets
of bead making, beads remained valuable trade objects. These small
treasures continue to fascinate us with their uniqueness, beauty and
their ability to connect us to our human stories.
The Bead Museum houses an international collection of more than
100,00 beads and beaded artifacts. It provides changing exhibits and
an educational program of lectures, tours, and classes. The museum
sells bead supplies, publications, and beads for the collector.
Beadwork II: The
Embellished Shoe
This exhibition, sponsored by Beadwork Magazine (Interweave Press),
is a spectacular traveling showcase of beaded footwear that was
chosen from among hundreds of entries into the "Beadwork II: The
Embellished Shoe" juried competition. This exhibition, sponsored by
Beadwork Magazine (Interweave Press), is a spectacular traveling
showcase of beaded footwear that was chosen from among hundreds of
entries into the "Beadwork II: The Embellished Shoe" juried
competition.
This display includes wonderfully varied and creative takes on
footwear, featuring every type of shoe from sandals to cloggs to
tennis shoes to "fluffy" pink bedroom slippers.
Ojime: Miniature
Master Pieces from Japan
This exhibit was a selection
of beads from a prestigious comprehensive collection of 75 ojime
collected and donated to The Bead Museum by Lois Sherr Dubin in
1999. This exhibit was a selection of beads from a prestigious
comprehensive collection of 75 ojime collected and donated to The
Bead Museum by Lois Sherr Dubin in 1999. Some of these beads in this
collection appear in publications, The History of Beads (published
1887, USA) by Lois Sherr Dubin and Ojime - Magical Jewels of Japan
(published 1991, USA) by Robert O. Kinsey.
Ojime - (oh-gee-meh) a crafted bead that forms part of an accessory
worn by a man to carry small personal belongings suspended from the
sash of a kimono.
French Beaded
Flowers
This exhibition was a
selection of beaded flower pieces. Bead flower making was developed
as a craft centuries ago by peasants of France and northern Italy.
Enterprising glass manufacturers employed these folk during the
winter months when they no longer tending vineyards and they were
able to work on cottage industry projects indoors. Glass beads were
manufactured in these conditions to be used for the embroidery of
magnificent costumes of French courtiers. This exhibition was a
selection of beaded flower pieces. Bead flower making was developed
as a craft centuries ago by peasants of France and northern Italy.
Enterprising glass manufacturers employed these folk during the
winter months when they no longer tending vineyards and they were
able to work on cottage industry projects indoors. Glass beads were
manufactured in these conditions to be used for the embroidery of
magnificent costumes of French courtiers.
Standards were high for these luxury items and the imperfect beads,
rather than being discarded, were used by enterprising peasants to
create beaded flowers. These flowers were used in numerous ways.
They were carried by altar or choir boys in religious precessions on
Easter and Christmas or arranged into bridal altar bouquets and also
as funeral wreaths. But the 19th century it became fashionable to
convert these impressive sprays and wreaths into wall sconces and
lamp fittings. It was not uncommon to use prison labor at this time.
Today bead artists all over the world have taken up this craft,
inspired by these charming arrangements and continue to find new
ways of using the flowers.
Incredible Polymer:
Feats of Clay
Polymer Clay is the popular
name for any of several brands of commercially available polymer
modeling compound, including Fimo, Sculpy, Premo, and Cernit. These
are manufactured in America and abroad and have become very popular
for beadmaking during the past 10 years. Hundreds of artists and
craftspeople use polymer clay to make a broad variety of beads and
ornaments using a remarkably wide assortment of techniques and
styles. It can be used similarly to both glass and clay, and also
through unique applications that no other medium provides. The
material is available in a range of colors, that can be mixed for
any palate. It is kneaded to a soft consistency, sculpted or
manipulated and ornamented, then placed into a conventional oven to
be hardened during a short exposure to relatively low heat. The
material itself is actually Polyvinyl Chloride - a variety of
plastic that has been given a consistency similar to artificial
rubber.
This exhibition of polymer clay beads, jewelry, and beaded art was
the second juried exhibit sponsored by The Bead Museum. It contained
the work of 21 artists from around the country, including a wall
display coordinated by the Arizona Polymer Clay Guild and pieces
selected from the work of guest artists.
The Huichol Web of
Life: Creation and Prayer
This exhibition clearly shows how the beadwork and yarn work of the
Huichol Indians integrates art into everyday living with symbols,
colors and forms that have meaning and significance in their world.
The Huicholes create unique, visually stimulating and informative
beaded and textile art exhibition that reflects their way of life.
These works of art demonstrate the value of symbols in beadwork and
yarn paintings that communicate shared human concerns not only
within the Huichol culture, but also in the world around them. The
Huichol until recently had no written language. These symbols are a
means to communicate their history and myths. These artisans live
"The Huichol Way", a way of thinking and a way of a centuries old
culture surviving in the modern world.
The purpose of this exhibit is to inspire viewers to consider the
integration of art and social studies as a means of awareness that
is relevant and significant to their own lives.
Issues presented in this exhibition also assist with public
awareness of the politically threatened Huichol people and their
struggle for preservation of their cultural heritage though the
commercial sale of bead and textile artifacts.
This exhibit is closely associated with the Huichol Inspired classes
offered by the Bead Museum. In these classes, students should learn
to work with beads and other materials in creating objects based on
Huichol art making techniques. Learn more about Huichol culture by
visiting our Huichol program page under Education.
Conservation: it's
in the bag...
Conservation: it's in the bag...This exhibit displayed beaded bags.
As beadwork begins to age, there are noticeable changes in the
materials. Normal use of
the bag may cause some damage, such as beads breaking, a thread
catching and unraveling of a portion of the bag, or a stain may
appear after something was spilled on the surface. Museums won't
attempt to fix these problems, as repairs or restorations may cause
more damage than originally present.
For museums to keep beaded bags in good condition for the longest
time possible, conservators use acid free tissue, lightly stuffing
the bag and paying close attention to the sides, where fabric is
under the most stress. The bag is also kept slightly open so the
metal findings won't rub together and create scratches on the
surface where dust can settle in increasing the risk of corrosion.
The bag is never hung by the chain, as this will cause stress to
both the metal and the fibers.
Not to Worry: Prayer
Beads, Rosaries and Talismans
These objects show diverse
functions of beads and other artifacts used in ritual: to facilitate
meditation, to count prayers, to express reverence and obedience, to
provide protection from evil and to invoke healing powers. These
objects show diverse functions of beads and other artifacts used in
ritual: to facilitate meditation, to count prayers, to express
reverence and obedience, to provide protection from evil and to
invoke healing powers.
The use of beads to count prayers originated with the Hindus of
India in the 6th century BCE. Indeed, the word bead is derived from
the Anglo-Saxon word beade or bede and referred to prayer.
Tuareg jewelry is made of silver; a metal blessed by the Islamic
Prophet, and is characterized as a protective symbolism. This
khomissar talisman, of five diamond-shaped silver pieces mounted on
leather, represents the five fingers of the hand. These five
elements can also be made of shell.
A Koran verse or written messages by Moslem Holy Men on paper
fragments is inserted into the recesses of the pendant. Such an item
forms part of the gifts of jewelry presented to a Tuareg woman on
her seventeenth birthday. Jewelry is traditionally an important part
of the woman's dowry and an indication of a family's wealth and
origin.
A Link with the
Ancients: A Selection of Pre-Columbian Beads and Artifacts
A Traditionally, art in early
civilizations developed inseparably out of the material expression
of ritual and ceremonial rites. Societies, such as among the
Pre-Columbian (pre 1492) people, function with a belief in the
interrelationship of all living things.
A result of the belief in an animate universe, including the cosmos,
is that the universe can be influenced by the physical act of mass
representation (ritual / architecture / enormous sculptures) or,
simply, creative expressions by individuals.
These ancient and Pre-Columbian objects can be better appreciated
and valued when one has an understanding of the original owner's
lives.
It appears that the objects worn by persons of these cultures were
sedentary with physical and intellectual abilities in the
cultivation of crops grown to sustain their lives. They lived in
small communities practicing different ceremonies that honored their
deities for providing the rain, sun and fertility of the earth to
grow their food. Their lives were ruled by growing cycles. Artifacts
of daily use were not only utilitarian, but were also beautifully
adorned.
The viewer of these artifacts gains an appreciation of religion as
art, ways of living as art, different ceremonies as art, and social
and political organization as art.
In these communities all symbolic manifestations had the capacity to
transmit energies from heaven to the earth and modify the earth if
necessary for the people to survive. This process occurred through
the power and significance of the arts. Art and life were
inseparable entities.
A Womans Treasure: Bedouin Jewelry of the Arabian Peninsula
For ages past, Bedouin tribes
have traveled throughout the vast expanses of the Arabian Desert,
dependent on the seasons to feed their herds and sustain their
nomadic existence. Along with the camels, the black tents, the
pungent spices, and aromatic coffee, the traditional Bedouin caravan
was characterized by the jingling of tiny bells, signaling a
remarkable treasure belonging to the women of the tribetheir
jewelry.
Bedouin women are given jewelry as dowry and wedding gifts, upon the
arrival of children, for ceremonies and special occasions throughout
their lives. These ornaments are a womans treasureher wealth, her
savings account, her security, her possession. So honored were these
objects, that even in times of battle, it was forbidden for rival
warriors to loot a womans jewelry. The craftsmanship and design of
the pieces reflect a variety of cultural references, including the
geometric patterns of Arabian design and architecture, potent
symbols of Islam, charms to ward off evil, intriguing religious
amulets and the allure of adornment. The reference to Bedouin
jewelry is in a sense misleading, since it is usually made by urban
craftsmen rather than the Bedouin themselves. However, it is the
Bedouin women who have sustained the tradition and trade of the
jewelry: in some cases, a silversmith would travel with a particular
tribe to make these ornaments for the women.
Over the past few decades, traditional Bedouin culture has
diminished. Nomadic life is often no longer viable as people settle
into cities and villages. Historically, a womans jewelry is melted
down upon her death, and examples of original pieces are becoming
almost impossible to find.
Drawing upon the collections of Frances Meade and Gabrielle Liese, A
Womans Treasure: Bedouin Jewelry of the Arabian Peninsula features
over one hundred pieces of jewelry, headdresses, earrings,
bracelets, necklaces, coffee urns, incense burners and other
artifacts from Bedouin life. This exhibit features some of the
finest examples of traditional Bedouin jewelry, most of it collected
during thirty years of Meades residence in Saudi Arabia. |
