Dark Spot One from the collection of Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.

Dark Spot One

glass beads (Czech beads), cotton thread, porcupine quills, recycled buffalo leather, white wooden frame

On Loan

Artist Statement:
Dark Spot One was made to draw attention to a very dark spot in American history: the horrific treatment of Native Americans and the deportation of their children to orphanages. I chose the URL to a website that deals with healing. My artifact acts as a gateway to a much larger body of information than this small decorative handwork, made with traditional native American materials, might initially suggest. Several worlds, traumas, and tragedies meet in this small work of my hands.

Technique:
Glass bead handwork has been part of Native American Art for centuries - ever since Czech seed beads were introduced as currency by the European colonists. Before that, native American jewelry and garments were beaded by embroidering with dyed porcupine quills, such as the one used on the top of this artwork. The glass beads are woven onto each other, one by one, with cotton thread. The QR code only works if the pattern is exactly accurate, which one can only find out after the work is done.

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From Handweavers Guild of America, Inc.

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