Creative Native American Beading

by Theresa Flores Geary

Following her successful Native American Beadwork , Theresa Flores Geary offers another beautiful collection of traditional beaded projects. These exquisite items range from a Huichol Lace Sun Catcher (perfect for beginners) to an advanced-level Waterbird Pendant, from a simple Ladder Chain Bracelet to a Sun Rosette Medallion. An Indian Girl Trinket wears clothes styled after Apache camp dress, often decorated with sewn trim: she wears moccasins,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402710771
• ISBN13: 9781402710773
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Sterling
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.8" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

You NEED this book!

Dr. Geary has created yet another winner! Regardless of your skill level, you'll find multiple projects within your reach. Each project is skill-level rated, but the directions are so clear that really persistence and patience are the only things separating the beginning projects from the advanced ones. Dr. Geary gives a wonderful background on the cultural significance of each of the projects--if it has one. That's one of the really great things I love about this book. If the project is one directed primarily towards the tourist trade, she says so! There's not a thing wrong with making what sells and one should not feel the need to apologize for it. Handicrafts are one of the skills people the world over use to bring in extra income, so why should Native Americans be any different? This is a very practical as well as enjoyable book. Little tricks to make the projects easier are generously scattered throughout the book. This book is a definite keeper and will remain as one of my favorite references. My only regret is that it sat on my "wish list" for so long before I finally purchased it!

The best I've ever read

I have both of Theresa's books and I have to say that they have to be the best books I've ever read; my daughter and I are constantly swapping these books back and forth. They are beautifully written, have wonderful illustrations and are very easy to follow. I love the history she inputs into every chapter and I have learned so much from these books. Please Theresa, write another one!

Love this book!

I own many beading books, but this one is a favorite I go back to over and over for the beauty and originality of the designs, as well as for the clear instructions. Projects are suitable for beginners who want to build their skills, as well as for the more advanced. The designs are Native American in theme, yet with just enough of a modern twist to be unique and a great jumping off place for one's own designs. I highly recommend it!

Bead tales and design

"Beadwork has an amazing history through the millennia. Even with so many brilliant examples of beadwork found on all continents except Antarctica, the Native American style of beading remains extremely popular worldwide. It is characterized by bright colors, bold designs, and extravagant beauty with natural themes. Embedded in the designs are symbols of spiritual significance to the native cultures originating them." "People who do beadwork readily acknowledge that their beads 'speak' to them. Beads are like letters that are merely abstract symbols for composing words of human expression. They form a universal language that appears to cross all cultures." from Native American Beadwork, Theresa Flores Geary Theresa Flores Geary weaves tales and plant lore with drawings and patterns, as well as practical advice like how to finish your knots, in two lavishly illustrated books on Native American beading techniques and projects. She also nourishes a creative space with plenty of opportunity for improvisation and design on the part of the beader. Much of a beader's time is spent looking closely at beads. Full-color photographs throughout the books breathe detail into the process of creating about three dozen beaded projects for beginners to advanced beadworkers. The photographs include finished beadwork pieces by many artists, as well as close-up shots of the bead projects at various stages of completion and diagrams which are easy to understand. Of Tewa and Aztec ancestry, Geary started doing beadwork at 14, taught by her mother, Anna Flores, and later received advanced instruction from elders of the San Carlos Apache tribe while working as a clinical psychologist. For the past ten years she has devoted herself to full-time beadwork, writing books and teaching. About a project with a traditional Thunderbird pattern, Geary writes: "A famous Kiowa poet, N. Scott Momaday, describes a different beast that roams the sky during a thunderstorm... Momaday's beast has a horse's head and a fish's tail. From its mouth lightning flashes, and its tail embodies the hot wind of a tornado. During a particularly violent monsoon-like season in southern Arizona, his description comes to life." Geary's descriptions bring to life many projects, including a round peyote-stitched hatband for advanced beaders, Apache weave (or brick stitch) earrings, loom designs, Huichol lace, miniature ears of corn using a corn stitch, and eyeglass and badge holders. The range of designs makes the book useful to experienced beaders and to those just starting out. Lists of materials and instructions are clear, and most show ways that the patterns can be adapted to other projects. Some of the stories Geary spins are old and pass on culture, and some are new, told in a clear and personal voice. The whole is a delightful how-to on beading techniques for any level of experience in a rich cultural context.

Creative Native American Beading

I have a Master's Degree in Museum Studies, and have devoted much of that study to the care and well-being of beadwork from all over the planet. I also interned at the Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ during the summer of 2000, where I learned much of this knowledge, but also I have worked for the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center in Omaha, Nebraska, where I learned preventive conservation techniques. I, myself, am an accomplished beadworker, and have found this book to be filled with many great designs and techniques; ranging from very simple, to difficult. The average beader will find this work to be most rewarding, while beginners and advanced beaders alike will definately learn something new. It is one of the best technical books out there, with lots of helpful, clear photographs. I am familiar with many of the projects in the book, however, I immediately sat down and began working on the Blue Violet Flower pattern and fell in love with the outcome! Many of the projects are pieces you will find for sale on some reservations today, as I also worked for the White Mountain Apache Tribal Museum and Cultural Center -- and have seen them there first hand. The purchaser of this book is getting the authentic thing, and that is rewarding in a time when beadwork is moving further and further away from its Native roots. Good Work Theresa! David Bingell