Post by Okwes on Aug 6, 2006 19:03:03 GMT -5
Beading Heart
Eloquent American Indian beadwork on exhibit in Bar Harbor
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - Bangor Daily News << Back
Tiny blue and white beads create the delicate, circular flower shapes stitched to the small black silk bag. The name "Jane" is picked out in white beads.
Snow white scalloped edges give definition to the edges of a blue silk bag stitched with strands of moose hair in pink, green and white, the motif reminiscent of a Jacobean crewel embroidery design.
Male and female American Indian figures adorn a black velvet bag designed to be worn hanging from a belt. Beehive motifs and tendrils resembling curled fiddleheads also decorate the bag.
The bags, dating from the late 18th to the late 19th centuries are part of the eloquent art of American Indian beadwork created to sell to tourists as souvenirs. The pieces comprise the exhibit, "Made of Thunder, Made of Glass: American Indian Beadwork of the Northeast" on display at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor. The exhibit includes bags, caps, pincushions and picture frames made by members of the Iroquois tribes of New York state and Canada, and the Wabanakis of New England and the Maritime provinces of eastern Canada. Motifs include the sun, strawberries, ornate sprays of flowers, geometric designs, hearts, animals and human figures in colors that span the hues of the rainbow.
"What amazes me is how fine the beads are," said collector and artist Gerry Biron of Saxtons River, Vt. He and his wife, basket maker JoAnne Russo, have collected 200 such items and 80 are featured in the exhibit.
Missionaries, who Christianized the Indians, may have encouraged tribal members to make such items to sell to a rising American middle class that was emerging as a market for such work. Missionary wives may have suggested to the beadworkers designs that would appeal to potential buyers of that era, according to Biron.
Biron said he has discovered in the layers of the beadwork old newspapers used as patterns in their construction. If the newspaper fragment includes a date, as it sometimes does, it aids in determining the age of the bag.
"I'm impressed with the meticulousness of the work," said JoAnne Russo. "They worked without a magnifying glass [to create the intricate designs] knowing they were going to sell it."
Biron, wearing around his neck a replica of a wampum amulet of his own making, began collecting American Indian souvenir beadwork 20 years ago after his mother revealed that his great-grandmother was a Micmac Indian from Nova Scotia.
"After that," he said, "my life changed." He left his career in technical engineering and began to do artwork full time. "I had this emptiness inside. I wasn't following what I was passionate about," he said of that period in his life.
Biron's paintings of American Indians are an integral part of the "Made of Thunder" exhibit. Each one is a portrait of an actual person based on photographs he has collected. The figure in each painting is depicted wearing a beadwork item from Biron's beadwork collection. This blend, coupled with Biron's own artistic interpretation of the spirit and dignity of a people, creates a fresh and original approach to portraiture.
"When I began," Biron said of the collection, "souvenir beadwork was not being collected - it wasn't considered ethnographic because it was created for the tourist trade. In the 1880s, beadwork was done by families who shared the tasks involved. The work wasn't as fine as the earlier work. Each family worked in a certain style. The earlier pieces were made by individuals. The design on the back is different from the one on the front. The later bags have the same design on the front and the back."
As a collector, Biron frequently is confronted with beaded pieces requiring restoration or repair. He has learned to do some of the work himself. The challenge is to find beads that match the original piece. "I use vintage beads," he said, "culled from Victorian handbags in disrepair." He said he has done beadwork since childhood.
"It's a most colorful exhibit. The designs caught my eye immediately. I felt the energy coming from them," said Passamaquoddy Historic Preservation Officer Donald Soctomah of Pleasant Point and Indian Township who visited the exhibit during its opening reception in June.
Historic photographs of native and non-native people wearing or displaying beadwork also is part of the exhibit.
"On the surface," Biron wrote in the catalog that accompanies the exhibit, "these pieces were the canvas upon which an Indian artist displayed her technical skills and artistic vision. We may never know the full extent of their meanings, but imbedded within the designs are stories of a people told in symbols and motifs that spoke of a sacred relationship to the natural world."
To complement "Made of Thunder, Made of Glass," the Abbe Museum has planned several beading workshops. Workshops are Beaded Critters, Simple Beading, Beaded Earrings with Porcupine Quills led by Passamaquoddy beadworker Gal Frey, Beaded Pins, Loom Beading, Porcupine Quill Applique Demonstration with Penobscot Indian artist Charlene Francis, and Beading Artist Demonstration, also with Francis. Information about the workshops and the cost to attend is available by calling the museum.
Copies of the Biron's exhibit catalog containing detailed history of the artifacts, information about the people who created them, a description of the times in which such items were made, and photographs of the collection are available at the museum store.
"Made of Thunder, Made of Glass" will be on display through Nov. 18 at the Abbe Museum, 26 Mount Desert St., Bar Harbor. Admission is $6, $2 children age 6-15. Admission is free to museum members and American Indians. To obtain more information, call 288-3519 or visit www.abbemuseum.org.
Bead-related workshops at the Abbe Museum
. Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-noon, "Beaded Pins." Use safety pins and seed beads to make decorative pins shaped like a turtle, snake, ladybug and dragonfly. They add a colorful touch to a backpack, jacket and jeans. Free with admission.
. Aug. 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., "Picture This!" Learn about the American Indians portrayed in Vermont artist Gerry Biron's paintings. Also draw, color and compose a cinquain poem as part of this activity for all ages. Free with admission.
. Aug. 24, 12:30-3:30 p.m., "Loom Beading." Geared for ages 8-14, this workshop teaches children the basics of loom beading. Participants will each weave a beadwork piece to turn into a pin, belt, buckle or bracelet. Cost: $8 members, $12 nonmembers.
Eloquent American Indian beadwork on exhibit in Bar Harbor
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - Bangor Daily News << Back
Tiny blue and white beads create the delicate, circular flower shapes stitched to the small black silk bag. The name "Jane" is picked out in white beads.
Snow white scalloped edges give definition to the edges of a blue silk bag stitched with strands of moose hair in pink, green and white, the motif reminiscent of a Jacobean crewel embroidery design.
Male and female American Indian figures adorn a black velvet bag designed to be worn hanging from a belt. Beehive motifs and tendrils resembling curled fiddleheads also decorate the bag.
The bags, dating from the late 18th to the late 19th centuries are part of the eloquent art of American Indian beadwork created to sell to tourists as souvenirs. The pieces comprise the exhibit, "Made of Thunder, Made of Glass: American Indian Beadwork of the Northeast" on display at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor. The exhibit includes bags, caps, pincushions and picture frames made by members of the Iroquois tribes of New York state and Canada, and the Wabanakis of New England and the Maritime provinces of eastern Canada. Motifs include the sun, strawberries, ornate sprays of flowers, geometric designs, hearts, animals and human figures in colors that span the hues of the rainbow.
"What amazes me is how fine the beads are," said collector and artist Gerry Biron of Saxtons River, Vt. He and his wife, basket maker JoAnne Russo, have collected 200 such items and 80 are featured in the exhibit.
Missionaries, who Christianized the Indians, may have encouraged tribal members to make such items to sell to a rising American middle class that was emerging as a market for such work. Missionary wives may have suggested to the beadworkers designs that would appeal to potential buyers of that era, according to Biron.
Biron said he has discovered in the layers of the beadwork old newspapers used as patterns in their construction. If the newspaper fragment includes a date, as it sometimes does, it aids in determining the age of the bag.
"I'm impressed with the meticulousness of the work," said JoAnne Russo. "They worked without a magnifying glass [to create the intricate designs] knowing they were going to sell it."
Biron, wearing around his neck a replica of a wampum amulet of his own making, began collecting American Indian souvenir beadwork 20 years ago after his mother revealed that his great-grandmother was a Micmac Indian from Nova Scotia.
"After that," he said, "my life changed." He left his career in technical engineering and began to do artwork full time. "I had this emptiness inside. I wasn't following what I was passionate about," he said of that period in his life.
Biron's paintings of American Indians are an integral part of the "Made of Thunder" exhibit. Each one is a portrait of an actual person based on photographs he has collected. The figure in each painting is depicted wearing a beadwork item from Biron's beadwork collection. This blend, coupled with Biron's own artistic interpretation of the spirit and dignity of a people, creates a fresh and original approach to portraiture.
"When I began," Biron said of the collection, "souvenir beadwork was not being collected - it wasn't considered ethnographic because it was created for the tourist trade. In the 1880s, beadwork was done by families who shared the tasks involved. The work wasn't as fine as the earlier work. Each family worked in a certain style. The earlier pieces were made by individuals. The design on the back is different from the one on the front. The later bags have the same design on the front and the back."
As a collector, Biron frequently is confronted with beaded pieces requiring restoration or repair. He has learned to do some of the work himself. The challenge is to find beads that match the original piece. "I use vintage beads," he said, "culled from Victorian handbags in disrepair." He said he has done beadwork since childhood.
"It's a most colorful exhibit. The designs caught my eye immediately. I felt the energy coming from them," said Passamaquoddy Historic Preservation Officer Donald Soctomah of Pleasant Point and Indian Township who visited the exhibit during its opening reception in June.
Historic photographs of native and non-native people wearing or displaying beadwork also is part of the exhibit.
"On the surface," Biron wrote in the catalog that accompanies the exhibit, "these pieces were the canvas upon which an Indian artist displayed her technical skills and artistic vision. We may never know the full extent of their meanings, but imbedded within the designs are stories of a people told in symbols and motifs that spoke of a sacred relationship to the natural world."
To complement "Made of Thunder, Made of Glass," the Abbe Museum has planned several beading workshops. Workshops are Beaded Critters, Simple Beading, Beaded Earrings with Porcupine Quills led by Passamaquoddy beadworker Gal Frey, Beaded Pins, Loom Beading, Porcupine Quill Applique Demonstration with Penobscot Indian artist Charlene Francis, and Beading Artist Demonstration, also with Francis. Information about the workshops and the cost to attend is available by calling the museum.
Copies of the Biron's exhibit catalog containing detailed history of the artifacts, information about the people who created them, a description of the times in which such items were made, and photographs of the collection are available at the museum store.
"Made of Thunder, Made of Glass" will be on display through Nov. 18 at the Abbe Museum, 26 Mount Desert St., Bar Harbor. Admission is $6, $2 children age 6-15. Admission is free to museum members and American Indians. To obtain more information, call 288-3519 or visit www.abbemuseum.org.
Bead-related workshops at the Abbe Museum
. Aug. 4, 10 a.m.-noon, "Beaded Pins." Use safety pins and seed beads to make decorative pins shaped like a turtle, snake, ladybug and dragonfly. They add a colorful touch to a backpack, jacket and jeans. Free with admission.
. Aug. 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., "Picture This!" Learn about the American Indians portrayed in Vermont artist Gerry Biron's paintings. Also draw, color and compose a cinquain poem as part of this activity for all ages. Free with admission.
. Aug. 24, 12:30-3:30 p.m., "Loom Beading." Geared for ages 8-14, this workshop teaches children the basics of loom beading. Participants will each weave a beadwork piece to turn into a pin, belt, buckle or bracelet. Cost: $8 members, $12 nonmembers.