The Best in Contemporary Beadwork: Bead International 2000

by Beadwork Magazine and Bead International 200

More than 100 stunning full-page color photos catalog the works chosen for the juried exhibit "Beads International 2000". These 80 winning pieces from 65 of today's leading beadworkers include such... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883010772
• ISBN13: 9781883010775
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Interweave Press
• Length: 101 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 9.3" x 11.2"

Customer Reviews

Best in Contemporary Beadwork

Held at the Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center in Ohio, Beadwork magazine co-hosts a juried show. Possibly the best reason for a serious bead artist to purchase this book is advice from the jurors on how to be accepted into a show. Each juror describes what made them select the items for the show. All jurors agreed: "good slides are a worthwhile investment." "To jury art from slides is to jury slides."The jury process was explained in detail, giving guidance to someone who wants to do a show using a jury. Jurors appreciated diversity, controversial subjects, and what they called the "hmmm?" factor. Certainly, the photographs of the winners' works reflect their criteria.Flora Book uses Japanese paper to make beads, then weaves them into a collar. Beverly A Carter from South Carolina takes an Udder Cream handcream jar and covers it with seed-beaded slogans; "Udderly smooth" and "I love this stuff." Perched on top of the jar is a cow.There are bead sculptures, beaded pictures, beaded shoes, a bicycle frame covered with beads, and "beadie babies." The "Family Jewels or Nut Cups" are little bowls woven with metal nuts.In the "anything can be a bead" category, Magels Landete uses Goodyear tires. Nicole Nagel uses multicolored sponges (Spongo) and pieces of licorice whips (Annisac) to make purses. Sharon Peters makes Oreo cookie beads out of glass and mixes them with glass cow beads and udder beads to make "Recycling at Daisy's Dairy." One Jurors' award went to James Edward Talbot of Austin, TX who made "Fully On #2," three faucets with beads as water. "One Alcoholic's Life: A Tangled Web" was Sue Eckman von Ohlsen's artistic statement that received another Jurors' Award. An Early Times whiskey bottle is in a hoop haphazardly webbed in thick black beads. From the bottle pours whiskey-colored seed beads, followed by white beads, then larger, blood-red beads. Of this art, Sue says, "As alcohol flows, it becomes tears and then blood, which symbolize the pain, destruction and ultimate death caused by addiction."

Wonderful eye-candy

After waiting months to get this book, I find myself a bit disappointed, but it is still worth the wait and the money. The variety of beadwork showcased is simply incredible with many items having close-up shots. Each work is accompanied by brief statements by the artists to help you understand what the artist was thinking, feeling at the time of creation. Now for the reason for my disappointment is that I am an avid fan of The New Beadwork by Kathlyn Moss and Alice Scherer, I would have been extremely happy with The Best in Contemporary Beadwork. Some of what I miss in Contemporary Beadwork is the simple biographical information of year and place of birth, and current residence, but mostly I miss the notation of date of creation, materials, techniques, and size. Let me stress that Contemporary Beadwork is well worth the money, despite the lack of details.