Beadwork Books
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Expand Your Bead Art Reference Library
Masters: Beadweaving
A Gallery of Purists and A Powerful Study Guide
Masters: Beadweaving: Major Works by Leading Artists
Amazon Price: $12.47 (as of 05/28/2012)
Published in 2008 and curated by Carol Wilcox Wells, author of the classic instruction book, Creative Beadweaving, this book will be many things to many beaders. For me, it's a powerful guide for in-depth study of many (mostly American), accomplished bead artists.
What makes this book unique is that each artist is able to showcase several pages of their work. I wish the author(s) had included a bit of basic biographical information in the text because place and background skills tend to be important influences on bead artists. I do get tired of seeing the same images -- some of them created 20 years ago or more -- but for beginning beaders who have perhaps not heard of Joyce Scott or Virginia Blakelock, this book will be an exciting find that spans the history of our current bead renaissance.
Several relative newcomers' work really touched my soul, such as the delightful and deceptively restrained touch of Amolia Willowsong, whose work effortlessly integrates natural materials with the beads, flows (almost as lightly as Huib Peterson's strung-together ensembles), and echoes the colors and forms of costume jewelry. She proves the old adage that less really is more.
And it was good to see extended representation -- finally! -- of a couple of my favorite bead artists who tend to be underpublished in this genre, such as Kentucky artist Linda Fifield, who turns her own wood vessels and covers them with peyote stitch, and Jeanette Alghren, whose wire frames hold magical loomed color studies.
The downside of the book for me was not the book itself, but rather work that was overdone, overworked, and obsessively rendered to the point that it was basically about itself, rather than about art, design, or function. There are some pieces in this book that frankly give me the willies. Wearing them would send me right into a panic attack.
There is good representation among freeform sculptural works, loomwork, and jewelry that combines off-loom stitches, but "Leading Artists" (as the subtitle describes) who focus on embroidery, wall art, and/or mixed media methods were sorely underrepresented in the book.
Still, as a beadwork artist and huge fan of many who were curated into these pages, I'm grateful to have this useful tome in my library, that helps document the history of our craft, and will hopefully inspire a new generation of beadworkers who want to take their work to a higher level.
The Art of Beadwork
A rich new advanced project book
The Art of Beadwork: Historic Inspiration, Contemporary Design
Amazon Price: $10.79 (as of 05/28/2012)
This wonderful bead-ecked tome is 104 pages, full color throughout, with large, detailed photographs and extended statements by most of the artists. You can see a full range of stitches (and combinations) here, that really showcase the amazing things that can be done with Delica cylinder beads. The back shows some basic stitch diagrams and contains a few pages of shops that sell Delicas, probably a short, outdated list by now.
This ambitious project relies on historic and indigenous beadwork traditions as inspiration for complex contemporary beadwork projects. Publication was delayed for over a year, as I recall, to the point where we were wondering if it would ever come out! Thankfully, the author posted teaser images from her collection of beadwork from around the world on her website, along with a description of what the book would be about.
This is a softcover, 160 page project book with numerous large 2 and 3D computer generated diagrams. It is arranged into the following chapters: Asian Inspirations, African and Middle Eastern Inspirations, European Inspirations, and American Inspirations. These project sections are preceded by a foreword by bead historian Lois Sherr Dubin, and a short essay, presumably by the author, describing the project participants. I found it odd that she included statements by Lisa Lou (of the Beaded Kitchen and Backyard fame), since Lou repeatedly declines to associate herself with the type of artwork covered in this book. There is a 5-page "Highlights of Beadwork History" section with numerous museum photographs, and 6 pages or so of information on supplies and materials.
Each project relies on a specific traditional/historical piece for inspiration, and each artist contributed a project (selected, and in some instances, designed by, the author) that refers to the techniques used in the inspiration piece. Specific stitches covered are: Spherical and three-dimensional geometric stitches (e.g., right angle weave), ladder, brick & peyote stitches, vertical netting, tassels and fringe, herringbone, tubular Ndebele, double layered stitches (right angle weave, scallop stitch), spiral stringing (with spacers), mosaic inlay with beads, a unique wire wrapping variation, loom weaving, and square stitch.
For me, the strength of this book is in its showcasing of multicultural, world beadwork traditions rarely available to American beaders. The author goes to great lengths to explain the beadwork in its original context, and to showcase various traditions from within their original cultures. The contributors are some of the best contemporary bead artists in the world -- including Don Pierce, David Chatt, and Joyce Scott, and the book reflects their esteem for the beadwork of the Ancient Egyptians, Yoruba, Dinka, Maasai, Ndebele, Chimu, Huichol, Han, Indonesian and others.
In fact, this book is so comprehensive it's almost overwhelming. The language becomes tedious in spots (must we call the Egyptian Princess project by her unpronounceable name -- Sithathoryunet?) and the overabundance of captions and sidebars make it necessary to reduce some of the project instructions to a smaller type size! However, this long-awaited publication is worth its weight in gold to me and other beadworkers who love the study of beadwork as much as its potential for personal artistic expression.
The New Beadwork
Spotlight on a classic
The New Beadwork
Amazon Price: $7.45 (as of 05/28/2012)
Used Price: $1.00
This book is durable for two reasons: 1. It's a hardback; and 2. The authors selected works that are timeless. Bead artist Kathlyn Moss and beadwork historian Alice Scherer had the vision in the early 1990s to create a written and visual record of an emerging art form in the United States -- fine craft using beads as the primary medium. Of course, beadwork had been around long before that, but this side of the bead renaissance began in the heady hippie days, where bead craft was revitalized beyond indigenous and hobbyist traditions.
Kathlyn Moss' essay "Captured Light" provides a clear picture of where contemporary bead art comes from. There is a brief introduction by bead historian Lois Sherr Dubin. Some artists' names from this 1992 classic will be familiar even to new beaders. Others give us a snapshot view of the state of bead art in that moment. Dozens of high quality, full-color photographs showcase works by Choctaw artist Marcus Amerman, acclaimed colorist Jeanette Ahlgren (who was working in 2D at the time!), New Mexico folk artist Frieda Bates, pioneer artist and educator Virginia Blakelock, Alaska's Kate Boyan, David Chatt, early how-to author Deon DeLange, Valerie Hector, Shoshone member Edgar Jackson, French jewelry artist Jacqueline Lillie (who was featured in Valerie Hector's recent book "The Art of Beadwork"), Sherry Markovitz and her faux-taxidermy, Carol Perrenoud, Don Pierce, Joyce Scott, and Marcie Stone, to name just a few who are still creating remarkably consistent bead art today.
Materials and dimensions are listed, along with other details about each piece and occasional commentary by the authors. In the back is a discussion of seed bead manufacture and illustrated beadwork techniques. This is not a how-to book; the diagrams are provided as a way to educate the viewer about beadwork. This classic, published by Harry Abrams, is OUT OF PRINT. If you see one, I highly recommend that you pick it up.
500 Beaded Objects
Major inspiration! New Dimensions in Contemporary Beadwork
500 Beaded Objects: New Dimensions in Contemporary Beadwork
Amazon Price: $9.00 (as of 05/28/2012)
In my opinion, the best in Lark's "500" series, this book showcases the diversity of technique, subject matter, and artistic interpretation among contemporary fine craft artists working with beads as their primary medium. I use this book to convert the uninformed. People who have never seen bead art are thrilled. People in the art world who think beadwork is a kid's craft are completely blown away. It is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to thumb through every page in one sitting; it's too overwhelming.
What is particularly impressive is the layout and design -- such careful and creative sequencing from one piece to the next. The page spreads are beautiful, interspersed with notes on the materials and the occasional artist statement. Well known artists as well as newcomers are equally represented, and the reader will find an exquisite array of jewelry, adornment, wall pieces, vessels, and sculptural work, as well as mixed media and conceptual expression.
(DISCLAIMER: I was honored to have three works juried into this book)
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by marytafoya
I earned my degree in fine arts but they didn't teach me beadwork in school!
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