RebeccaStarry
Hey Rebecca, could you tell our readers
a little more about you and how you got
started with beading and jewelry?
would bring out their beadwork and we often
traded jewelry. After taking David Chatt’s class at
the Coupeville Arts Center, I discovered the vast
possibilities of beadwork using right angle weave.
No stranger to larger pieces, I created “She has her
Years ago, a friend of mine and me would go to
beads to keep her warm” a scarf which incorporatthe local craft shows where we always admired
ed both right angle weave and horizontal square
the work of local bead artists. Then we began
stitch. I loved the way the beadwork warmed to
making and selling our own beaded jewelry in
the 80’s at the local bazaars. I had always admired the touch as you wore it.
the work of Virginia Blakelock and the detail she
You like to work
obtained in her loomed pieces. I too thought I
with, should we say
would like to do loom work, but on a larger scale.
I even had my husband help to make a large loom
“unusual” pieces
for such projects. However, I quickly became
in your designs.
frustrated maintaining the tension on all of the
Where did this idea
warp threads and the thought of weaving in all of
evolve from?
the threads after the loom work was completed
seemed daunting. I thought I might be able
After attending Dato create the look of loom work with off loom
vid’s class, I created a
stitches. I was attempting to teach myself square
couple of small sculpstitch when I developed a horizontal square stitch
tural vignettes using
method. It’s much like Ndebele or herringbone,
the right angle weave
but with an extra thread path worked right to left
such as “Gone” (LEFT)
that join the columns of beads and cause them
which incorporated
to lay flat horizontally. I discovered I could create
the use of a small doll
any shape or size by using this method and did
house bed.
not have to worry about tension or weaving in
the threads when I finished. Living through the
In 2002 several Alaslong Alaskan winters was made a little brighter
kan bead artists inby creating colorful beadwork. I worked for many
cluding myself comyears in law enforcement and found beadwork
pleted a year and a
provided a good balance to a stressful career. I
half long Master Class with NanC Meinhardt. The
also traveled to many rural Alaskan locations for
completion of the class was celebrated with an
my work and often took my beadwork with me.
exhibit of our work.
I found the local village women would open up
and talk to me as they watched me bead. They
creativebeadchat.com