“Olive Branch” was my chance to show how various cultures have their own songs, dances and other forms of expression. I just love creating art with the commonality of the arts as a most cherished form of creativity and interaction.
In this piece, I show one small olive branch. I didn’t intertwine it from person to person like a vine or as a common thread because, we know in our hearts, you don’t have to see it to know it’s there.
I find beauty in the faces of all people. I yearn for a simple life in a world that is a vast and complex place. Even during the toughest of times, I strive to “make something beautiful”. It’s idealistic, but true.
Hopefully that translates to my art. Like one drop of dew, many people don’t take the time to notice. I like to remember that the sun always sets and rises – no matter our pain; no matter the obstacles.
I dream of harmony and ask my own questions like: “Why do all snowflakes have to be white? Why can’t they be like stained-glass?” and then I “make them so”. Similar to the snowflakes embroidered and beaded over the turquoise sky in “Olive Branch”.
These two little kids are wrapped in folded and pleated cloth. They are among flowers beaded with seed beads. I take the time to blend various shades of beads and really tighten them down. I find myself learning as I go along and have figured out how to get through several layers of cloth with thin beading needles.
I have to think I’ve tied more knots than a Justice of the Peace, but, each bead seems to feel special. They find a place in all my work now, from the unique beads on the small drum, or as buttons and a purple stone elephant bead balanced upon a child’s arm.
