You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: Native American Style Beadwork
Nice work! I love the paw. Did you draw it out first to determine where the red would go or did you just wing it?
Nice work! I love the paw. Did you draw it out first to determine where the red would go or did you just wing it?
Thank you! I actually found the bear's paw online already in a grid pattern for beading. I printed off some bead graphing paper (I guess that's what you call it) and drew out the borders. There was quite a bit of trial and error in the beginning, but the beading itself had a very calming effect. Except for when I stuck myself with the needle. :D
The rows are not as tight as they could be, and there is one stray red bead at the tip of the "thumb" nail. But when I was teaching on the Navajo res, I heard that the rug makers will leave a single imperfection to symbolize the imperfection of life. I went ahead and left that bead in there. If I know about anything, it's imperfection. ;)
I've heard that too, but in Iranian rug weaving. It's to remind us of imperfection and also of the human being who hand-tied every knot. Or strung every bead in your case. Cool how it's cross-cultural.
In my brain though, the first person to make a mistake was like, "Dang it. Well, I can always tell people it symbolizes imperfection." Heehee.