Chances are at some point in your adolescence you made a bracelet or necklace in school or at camp. Typically it would have been something that consisted of lanyard and plastic lettered beads spelling out your name with alternating multicolored fillers. Perhaps you eventually graduated to the more sophisticated craft store bead kit, packed with microscopic colored glass beads and some fancier “designer” ones ranging in size color and translucence. However, with the stringing of colored beads a distant memory, this kit most likely dwells atop a dusty shelf, forgotten after only a measly few completed projects.
If you are anything like this author, it is not so much the lack of interest as the need to tuck away and savor every uniquely created bead as it is its own work of art. And let us be honest, glass bead making is a true art form. In fact, there are still people that painstakingly produce beads by hand.
I recently visited the Glass Beads of Ghana exhibit at The Newark Museum where patrons can see beads and video footage of a very old and skilled tradition of bead making. The bead makers of Ghana use various shades of recycled glass to create beautiful and functional strings of beads. Some are meticulously painted with ornate designs, while other beads rely on the aesthetic properties of the glass itself.
Glass beads of Ghana at the Newark Museum
Perhaps the most striking set of beads is Necklace of Lamp-work Beads, 2008, commissioned by The Newark Museum. The artist, Nomodo Ebenezer Djaba, uses Venetian lamp-work techniques as well as traditional Ghanaian akosu and bodom bead designs in his piece. It incorporates bright reds, teal greens, and a myriad of other vibrant candy-like colors that form geometric patterns and organic swirls.
Admission to the museum is free to Newark residents. Glass Beads of Ghana is laden with all kinds of unique and interesting strings of beads. After visiting you will undoubtedly be compelled to dust off that old bead kit or pick up a string or two of beads from the museum gift shop and get to work on making the “grown-up” versions of your childhood creations.
September 21st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
God’s eyes, dream catchers and some other Native American craft… it was an armband with beads and feathers. I still got that somewhere. Those were the extent of my arts and crafts career. And a few horrible pinch pots/ashtrays.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
How do your beading party workshops compare to a Lia Sophia or Silpada party? This “party” is very different. It is a combination of learning and fun! It is a hands-on workshop where each attendee makes their own jewelry while learning some great techniques and beading skills so they can continue making jewelry on their own after the event.
July 6th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
This is what hobby takes place, most successful businessman started their business as a favorite past time only on their childhood years, when you enjoyed the thing you do it is like you are forgetting the time you spend on that stuff and it let your life go without having to carry extra luggage.
July 15th, 2010 at 2:35 am
Even a beginning jewelry maker can tackle a project as large as a necklace. I developed my business because one of a closest friend made a simple necklace made of beads and it attracts me. from that time on, days wouldn’t complete without selling any necklace I made.