Drawing with Beads

Art has been created throughout time.  Which means that artists have lived in different times, come from different countries, cities and cultures around the world.  

Let's look at some colorful beaded art by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest.  

First, what does Indigenous mean?

Indigenous people are the first people to live in a place.

Even though there are many groups in this area, the specific artists we will become familiar with today are the Plateau Indians of the Northwest.  

Think of states like Washington, Oregon, Idaho and parts of Canada.

What does it mean to trade?  300 years ago (in the 1700's) the fur trade expanded to bring new trade goods to the Northwest region.  Native people of the Great Plains brought their beadwork to the Northwest.

Seed beads (small round beads) in many colors became available, together with steel needles. 

Because of these newly traded materials beadwork was now being created. Beadwork featured flower shapes, images of people, animals and landscapes.  Today more contemporary designs are created.

People of the Columbia Plateau traditionally relied on salmon, roots and local animals. 

What do you see that tells you scenes of hunting for food in daily life show up in their beaded work.

Historically women created the beaded work.  Often girls learned to bead from an older relative or other elder.

Native plants are popular in Plateau design although inspiration comes from many sources.  Some designs are passed down in families. What is something your family has passed down?

 Beads are sewn over the surface of the bag.

 The main design is beaded first and then the background is beaded around it.

Beaded bags are usually made from cloth and beaded on one side only. 

Remember flower designs were popular.  

Which specific plants and animals do you recognize?

Notice the flowers and horses.  The horse was a favorite motif at the time.

Flat beaded bags are still produced today. 

People make them to carry at celebrations, ceremonies and social gatherings, to give to others, to trade and sometimes to sell.

Will you work with beads in our jewelry studio?

Will you include motifs in your art that you notice in our Missouri environment?  Trees, flowers, animals?

Will you create functional art that can be used by you or someone you know?

Perler Beads will be out for the next couple of art classes.  You can use small beads of color to create artworks.

https://mnch.uoregon.edu/collections-galleries/plains-and-plateau-beadwork