Beaded Viruses
I subscribe to Beads-List, a listserve with beads and beadwork as its focus.
A few months back, I received a posting about the beaded virus models being created by scientist Dr. Holly A. Wichman, a Professor of Biology at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.
I knew nothing of virus structures, let alone that they could be modeled in beads….or that such potentially deadly organisms could be rendered so beautifully. In her scientific research, Dr. Wichman studies the Microviridiae family of viruses. A few years ago she took up beading, and at a certain point she…
New Work
A few weeks ago in my last “Studio News” post, I included mockups of a few pieces I was working on for the “Recycle: Recreate, Redefine, Re-imagine” show at Facere Gallery in Seattle. I promised to post images of the finished pieces. Here are the ones that I like best. They will be exhibited at Facere until mid-February. I had only two rules for this project: one, that in the spirit of the show I would use up materials I already had in the studio and two, that beadwork did not have to play a leading role, as it does…
Half the Sky Foundation
Half the Sky Foundation
I am often asked to donate pieces of my beaded jewelry to various good causes, and I am happy to make those donations, especially when the funds go to cancer or HIV-Aids research. Then again, I also like to give pieces to fundraisers that benefit arts institutions such as the Bellevue Arts Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
But there is another cause that is equally worthy, in my opinion: improving the lives of orphaned children in China. Some of the orphans are girls and some are boys; many are handicapped. Their horizons are unfairly limited by circumstances far…
Chen Lulan's Abacus Museum
Chen Lulan’s Abacus Museum
When I look at an abacus, I see a framework containing rods that hold moveable beads. But are they really beads? Or are they just small objects that happen to have holes in them to make counting easier?
As someone whose assumptions are influenced by an intense interest in beads and beadwork, I would suggest that the answer is “both.”
But I’m not so sure that Madame Chen Lulan of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, would agree. And she is by far the greater authority on abacus history, theory, and practice, especially as it relates to China. …
Turkish Beaded Mashallahs
Turkish Beaded Mashallahs
January 5, 2009
They say memories are most indelibly etched in our brains when intense emotions are involved.
One of my most indelible memories came about as a result of a minor car accident about fifteen years ago. I was driving on an expressway in the Chicago area, and I accidentally rear-ended a taxi in heavy traffic. Fortunately, it was only a tap, and a fairly gentle one at that. Still, it was upsetting. A few seconds went by, and I realized that it wasn’t serious.
I saw the taxi driver start to get out of his…