
Tell us about something you've made, and why it holds particular value in this era of Internet/media ephemera.
As an American-Scot I appreciate my heritage and to honor the generations who came before me I have created one of a kind "Scottish Tartan Art", which could be considered a sporran alternative. Each beaded bag is designed and hand crafted by hand by me, here in New Hampshire. Since There are 33 Delica seed beads across in this bag based on the MacAulay Tartan I have named it, "MacAulay 33". The strap is 32" and is beaded using a technique called couching. The body of the pouch measures 1 7/8" X 3 3/8" and took me 46.5 hours to bead weave. I keep written track of when I start and when I stop as I bead weave on the loom. I figure that if I am going to ask someone to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of functional art I will document my time, (which you can have for free with purchase of the piece if you like). However, I do not document the time it takes to come up with the design, set up and remove from loom, sew up sides and fashion a strap as I believe once someone understands how much time went into beading the body of the bag, an appreciation naturally occurs. Then one can truly see the entire piece in conjunction with its price tag.
College degrees are not required to make jewelry, but I have graduated from Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire and having a BFA in Graphic Design I feel that design is the key to success. It takes me many undocumented hours creating, reworking and deciding on the colors and size plaid I am going to use as a grid to bead loom a pouch. There are many Scottish Tartans to choose from and some have similar colors.
After I have strung my loom with FireLine I sit with written instructions, many little containers of Delica size 11 seed beads, needle (and spare), Nymo size 00 thread (black or white), thread conditioner, scissors, magnifier on my head and pen. My (primary) light source is an Ott light mostly. MacAulay 33 has over 10 different colors. With woven fabric the shades of each hue (colors) are created by the threads going under and over each other. However, when I weave with beads I need to have all the colors as separate entities. There are some Tartans that are so intricate that to bead weave a pouch from their pattern requires over 30 different colors ! For this reason, my collection of Delica beads is very important and needs to have a wide variety of hues and shades (colors). I spent a few years accumulating enough different colors in order to start creating my line of Scottish Tartan Art bead woven pouches.
I acknowledge that I live in a society that is glut with cheaply manufactured products, mostly made in China. I do not intend to insult my audience, merely remind some senses that have become dulled from over exposure to mass produced, machine made items which have no artistic value. Bright colors do not always keep their luster. Many machines seem to produce a proliferation of "lackluster" jewelry. My jewelry is made to last a life time (with no mistreatment). I expect that if you purchase MacAulay 33 you will be able to pass it on to your child someday. The Tartan is about tradition and that is more than one person's lifetime !
I feel that art is meant to be looked at in person and if the art is not flat, to be touched. One can view "reproductions" of art on the internet, but that is not like viewing the object in real life. My beaded bags are important in the era of the computer because it is a reminder that there is life outside the electronic box. Someone once said that man cannot live by bread alone. My art teacher once said that the computer (and by extension, the internet) is a tool. The internet is not God. Through the internet we can reach out and virtually "touch" someone. We can make a virtual contact, but where can that virtual contact bring us ? lead us ? reach us ? fulfill our lives ? Can typing on a keyboard connected with the cyber world give us tactile experiences that transcend the mundane ? I say, "NO". My bead weaving is much more physically and spiritually rewarding to me than anything else I have done on-line .... and that includes playing virtual games on Face Book like Farmville !


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