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60 CALURT • BŁADED AMULET PURSES

A Gallery of Beaded Amulet Purses

What is a beaded amulet purse? It is an art form...a Container... an accessory...an artifact...even a spiritual vessel. Within these palm-sized objects there are no limits. True, they are all containers worn on the chest. Yet, the variety, both emotionally and styfistically, is dramatic. One is abundant in beads and fringe. Another is tightly controlled through pattern and technique. There are no rules here.

Many of the artists who created these wonderful pieces have advanced degrees in other fine arts and "found their milieu" in beadwork. Some have been beading for decades, others for merely a year or two. They find obvious joy in stretching the boundaries of the medium and making a personal stalement through design, texture, color and technique. The Gallery displays a mere sampling of the current work in this field. It is by no means a comprehensive survey. In the past ten years the field has exploded. New techniques and styles are created every day.

It's not surprising that beaded amulet purses are experiencing a renaissance of sorts. The recent surge of interest in beading accounts for part of it, but beaded bags also have historical touchstones for us. In the seventeenth century when beaded purses first appeared in Europę, they were an essential craft of the well-bred woman. The designs were taken from ernbroidery patterns and often incorporated łegends or symbols. By the nineteenth century, beaded purses became widespread and were mass produced.

Today, we resonate with beaded amulet purses for sev!ral reasons. Amulets, tangible symbols of our belief in spirit, cross all cultures. Often, they are contained in smali pouches worn oyer our.hąart. These bags hołd our Ireasures. Eventually, the pouches lhemselves become our amulets. We weave together our special stories and symbols. The bags arejnystical and mysterious., Nearly every bag is a Container. What do they hołd? One bag can hołd our special beach finds. Another contains one simple stone. They are unified by beauty. We wear them as statements of who we are and how we want to be seen.

Let these gallery pages serve as a source of inspiration. Absorb the artistry, appreci-ate the jjersonaJ statement of these artists and launch your own journey. Your personal choice of color, texture, technique and pattern will create your own statement. Ultimately, that is the vision of this book and the joy. we find in beadwork.

— Mardie Rhodes