NEWS & NOTES

Current - Fall 2010 | Winter 2010 | 2009 Archive

BEAD WALK

BEAD Walk will return on the next update.  We have found some interesting stores in pedestrian-friendly areas that we will share with readers.

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This has been a cycle of reflection on the craft and research into beaders and beads.  Several passages from THE HISTORY OF BEADS by Lois Sher Dubin show how the environment and nature influences artists to create beads and jewelry that are an organic part of the culture and society, while also serving to communicate cultural values.  These passages describe an African sensibility, but I believe her observations are true for beaders all over the world.

"To understand the beads of Africa, it is crucial to appreciate the influence of geography on African societies.  The continent is home to several distinct environments:  deserts, tropical rain forests, woodlands, savannas and fertile river valleys.  Natural resources are distributed unevenly within these regions and the structure of different economic, political and religious systems reflect variations in the natural setting.  Adornment, as an expression of peoples values and their social and economic organizations, mirrors the wide-ranging contrasts that are the essence of this continent. 

"Beads are an integral part of a multilayered communication system in all African societies.  Adornment, particularly with beads, communicates cultural values in a symbolic language that expresses rank, religion, politics and artistic attitudes.  Beads are still central to the lives of all Africans – from the hunting-and-gathering peoples of the southern Kalahari Desert to wealthy Nigerian and Ghanaian villagers – and their ability to reflect a specific cultural heritage is still strongly pronounced in Africa."  The History of Beads, page 47

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