beading for relaxation

its been a stressful time lately (the end of the semester always is...papers to grade, exams to write, extra credit odds/ends showing up in dribs/drabs) so I turn to bead time for my relaxation. I offered to provide some things to the Caddo nation for their culture camp this summer, some little things to give to the kids or use as prizes etc. I have some things left over from a craft fair to toss into the mix as well. So I've been making small dolls and found some small colored metal rings to attach them to backpacks or whatever; modified the pattern to include a boy doll but its a bit larger in size. After doing a few of these I've shifted to some rosettes just so I don't get bored doing the same thing for too long...I'll come back to those little dolls. I'm told there will be about 50 kids at camp, yikes...don't think I can make enough but maybe the organizers can add my stuff to whatever else they get.
I decided to try something a bit unusual for me, something less traditional but full of color... I have been collecting images from Ebay and Google of various beaded items and keep them organized in folders. A while ago I found a rosette being sold at Dean's Pawn in Oklahoma City; the original looks Crow style and I think it was Kiowa made. I used it for inspiration but changed the colors and tweaked the pattern a bit. Think I'll get a small canvas bag at Hobby Lobby and sew it on then add some edge beading....should look nice for a young girl. I really like how it looks during the day when it gets natural light. Next rosette will be more traditional but its nice to try different approaches.

OU Medallion

I made a necklace for my friend Chie; she is also an alumni of Univ OK and has been so kind to send me postcards from Alaska where she works with Inuipiat people ( and Pingu toys from Japan). She was very happy to get her medallion and says she will wear it to some dances. I need to tweak the design just a bit but I like how it turned out.

I bought more medium weight interfacing so am all stocked up and ready to make rosettes! I have offered to make a few things that will be given to the kids who attend this summer's Caddo Culture camp held in Binger, OK. Will make small bags decorated with the rosettes and some little necklace dolls (something I made ages ago, a good way to use up some scrap suede and they are super cute...little girls will really like them). I'd like to try making balls using pony beads; pattern looks like a tennis ball but I'm not sure how the bead work will lay out when the parts are drawn together and stuffed...if they look ok perhaps the boys would like them.

My friend Tracy makes such lovely fans and has been encouraging me to try, even sending a handle and feathers but the task seems daunting. Happily she was selling some of her fans at a pow wow and I bought one...it has large turkey feathers and small green & yellow decorative fluffs at the base. She will bead the handle for me and I bet it will look absolutely fantastic. I have a few blue macaw feathers but think I'll mail them home and have her put together a small NAC fan. I just suspect I would find feather work to be maddening ans so its best left to the experts!

Purple Man

finished the little fellow and sent him to his new home...I decided not to make a bandolier for him and I should have made slightly smaller moccasins (this eastern style reminds me of elf slippers). But I like the colors and the simple beadwork turned out pretty good. I used some natural pearls and a nice shell in honor of the Caddo folks who made Spiro. I shared a few of my beloved brass sequins (hard to get sometimes). But now its time to move on to the next project: a small pouch for my friend Chie.

Purple Man progress

he is making headway but needs che zhoa (beaded moccasins) and his hat...looks like an old time res hat but I'll try to edge roll the brim (scalloped edge beading looks too delicate)...I love the shell pendant but it hangs too low for the chest rosette

Purple Man

started a new doll, originally intended to make a Caddo male for a friend back home but realized that since I don't really sew it would be too hard to make a cloth ribbon shirt and I can't find photos of Caddos in hide shirts. So instead I'm making one of my own dolls as inspired by aspects of Caddo culture; they like the colors purple & black and their men's regalia draws from Straight Dance so this little doll has black hide leggings with purple ribbon trim and I'll make Caddo moccs. His shirt is made from purple suede but beaded in a more northern style (southern Plains bead work is generally sparse). He will have braided cloth garters and shell jewelry in honor of the old Spiro culture. I'll wrap his braids in purple ribbon and may get a small black cowboy hat at Hobby Lobby; I can put edge roll bead work along the rim and a braided hatband (similar to the garters). I am finishing up the bead bands on the shirt and will do a small rosette for the chest. It will be pretty but a bit funky modern...still I think Tracy will like him and that's what really counts!

Tracy also sent me her grandmother's doll to see how they were made; its a sweet one with wonderful clothes and a lovely necklace. She also sent some very nice beads and feathers to help me put together a fan (I'm unsure on this project, hers are so amazingly fantastic) but I have some macaw feathers I'd like to use.

Beckie's doll revisited

think I have finally finished this doll although I could poke around on her for a bit longer (she should have more than 1 bag on her belt and some other necklaces) but I'll stop for now as other projects are needing time & attention. Spring Break is almost here and even though I have a ton of papers to grade there just has to be some craft time in there too. I will make a simple hide doll to begin a collaborative project with a Caddo friend back home; her grandmother made dolls and Tracy has asked me to look at an unfinished one. I'll use it for a guide, likely its a different style than I have been working with and I think its cloth too which presents both possibilities and problems. Am still trying to figure out how to make & decorate Caddo men's leggings but have not found any examples in museum collections...one of the joys of dolls & toys is the suggestion (not actual representation) of reality so hopefully we can get close enough for now (with room for later improvements). Not sure about his hair; traditionally they wore a roach style but shifted to southern plains during the res era and the boarding school cut by 1900 or so...too many decisions for right now! So I'll likely spend some time working on rosettes as a mild distraction and I have been thinking more seriously about making a blanket strip for a friend's retirement gift.

I've also volunteered to give a presentation on bead work to a local historical society this fall and to possibly teach a bead working class if there is any interest. I need some additional examples to show so I am trying to pick up some small/affordable items; just bought my 1st Iroquois whimsey, a beaded pin cushion from around 1900. The price on these seems higher than it used to be so I am out of the market for the good stuff. Not sure what kinds of projects to teach, maybe rosettes for small bags or gourd stitch pens etc.

Got an interesting old Dover book: North American Indian Designs in full color for Needleworkers and Craftspeople (1975), featuring grid patterns for various southwest & Plains designs. Looks handy and I should try to incorporate more intricate patterns in my work. I'm already considering a new female doll with a lovely greasy yellow yoke, really like this color and look forward to working with it for the 1st time!

Beckie's doll

I worked on this doll over the xmas break and decided to keep going; all finished except for the accessories (earrings, belt bags, hair ties) but I should be done soon. I like the horses (wish I was skilled enough to do more pictorial work) so I'll call her Horse Medicine Woman in honor of Luzan, an Apache woman known for her "horse whispering" skills (she was the only woman to be imprisoned with Geronimo and his warriors). Doing the lazy or lane stitch was a challenge at first but got better with time; the secret was to keep the hide on an small quilt frame to maintain the even lines. This was the 1st doll to have an all hide body so I need to increase the size of my moccasin and dress patterns slightly.
I want to do another doll in all greasy yellow, a color I used to be ambivalent about but am now embracing. Was good to do a doll again, which seems like a more satisfying project with multiple stages of work (rosettes and bags are easy and quick with little thought required). Am thinking of making an old fashion "possibles" bag one of these years, but the list of projects already promised to other people puts that one pretty low on the priority list.

I did find yet another nice little book on beadwork, the Dover reprint of William Orchard's Native American Beadwork, originally published in 1929. It has a really good section on historical bead use as well as good illustrations on technique...well worth the $3 price from Ed Hamilton Books! And I splurged a bit on French luster beads in the latest Crazy Crow sale flyer; they are 11/0 but I will find a use for them somewhere (too big for dolls but a good size for other work). Next up: an OU bag for Chia who has recently sent me so many wonderful gifts from Japan and Barrow AK

'Tis the Season

winter is a good time for craft projects...am stuck inside and my living room gets good light early in the morning. Last spring I started a doll for a friend who graduated from college but it didn't get done in time...and then summer came with other activities (refinished my deck and some old furniture) and then fall with lots to do at work. Over the Xmas break I decided to do some work on the doll and am almost done with the back of the dress. This is the 1st time I've made a fully beaded doll dress (usually its just the yoke and some spot beading on the lower parts) and my 1st project to all be done in lane stitch which I wasn't very familiar with. After a rough start I seem to be in the groove more but its hard to plan a design; my beads are inconsistent in size (despite all being 13/0) and nothing looks quite right. The back has been essentially a learning area: helping me to become familiar with this stitch and seeing what color combinations work together. I will have a more organized design theme for the front but am not yet decided. Beckie told me her favorite color is blue so it has several shades of blues worked into it as well as white, red and pale green. Its a tad bit busy for my taste so far (but not excessively so) and after replacing a middle section some of the color riots have calmed down.

Am looking forward to getting some jewelry items made by a very gifted Caddo/Kiowa artist back home; she does German silver work (including lovely Caddo combs) so I asked if she could make some small gorgets for a male doll and perhaps some armbands. She says she has made jewelry for her kids' Barbie dolls so this is great! Usually I find some charms at Hobby Lobby or improvise with metal & shell buttons; its gets the idea across but they are just not quite right. I look forward to her additions but feel badly imposing upon her time as she too has lots of craft projects piled up. She makes great feather fans and is getting ready to make a new dress for her daughter...so wonderful to see all the young Caddo ladies dancing in their regalia, good to keep the culture going into the future!!

For Xmas I received a nice book: Native American Beadwork by a German hobbiest Georg Barth. It has very helpful instructions and illustrations on a variety of techniques and I think we all agree that European hobby types do some amazingly good work. Curiously they are super concerned about accuracy in "authenticity" including materials etc, but I laughed as I read portions of the book...the author dismissed the use of frames (except small embroidery hoops for doing rosettes) since they are not traditional. I like to use Q-Snap embroidery frames as they keep the material straight and my beadwork neat & tidy. I suppose electric lights and sewing machines aren't traditional either but I sure they are greatly appreciated by many women today! Those hobbiests are so concerned with correctness but I wonder if they are missing out on the spirit of the work? I make my things with love and friendship; I try my best; and I know they will be enjoyed by the recipients...that, to me, seems more important that the distinct details of accuracy in materials and technique. I'm sure many women in the past innovated or "made do" when needed; probably most cut corners when they thought they could get away with it...so I'll keep using frames when needed to improve upon the quality of my work. It will never be perfect and I'll never be recognized as a "master craftsman" but I'll do my best and keep making gifts for friends.

Gifts that keep on giving...

my friend Rhonda gave me a subscription to American Indian Art Magazine for xmas, so very nice of her! I had some time remaining on my subscription so they just added it on and I will continue to receive for another 2 years....its a very nice magazine: comes out 4 times a year, printed on thick glossy paper, and the ads are every bit as fun as the actual articles! I have even ordered several gallery catalogs that were advertised.

I asked our university library to carry a subscription of this magazine and will ask students to read articles and use as a source for research papers in the future. It is not a well indexed publication however, a fact which can be frustrating for researchers...however the University of Oklahoma's Western history library has older issues and the indexes so I am able to xerox things when I go home from time to time

The latest issue has an article on Cree dolls and as usual Sherwoods gallery has a big ad, this one featuring several Cree dolls. This will make for fun reading over the holiday break!!

Hungry!

I promised myself not to do any craftwork this fall since I have academic work demanding my attention (high enrollments mean lots of papers to grade and I seriously need to work on my manuscript and some articles) but I am so hungry for craft time! I don't even spend time with bead catalogs or my new quill books...but I did briefly look thru the new Dover edition of Kiowa 5 paintings that arrived in the mail a few days ago, wow...so lovely. I thought I might do some work over Thanksgiving or perhaps make a Christmas gift or 2, but no. The semester ends soon and while I plan to work on my articles I will find some time to get back to Beckie's doll...I picked up some new beads ( a lovely shade of blue and some pearl whites in 13/0) for it at Lyon's Indian Store in Tulsa when I went home for the Plains Anthropology conference in October. Hard to believe that this time last year I was busy working on my first cradleboard and I had hoped to start another one this winter but that will have to wait. But the holiday break is nearly here.....