'To experience is to understand, to understand is to work and communicate from the heart, and to communicate from the heart
is to create unshakable joy.' Amy Schilling

In my work, my hands are essential tools for understanding and visualizing. The process of creation is as critical as the product. To experience is to understand. For this reason, I learn the origins of the materials I use, so I may understand more intuitively how they can best be used to their full potential in a design.

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When glass beads from Ghana began to figure prominently in my work, I wanted to meet the community making them. Without knowing the artisans, the beads were just a commodity without a story. Curiosity led me to Ghana where I met and worked beside Florence Marty Asure.
Bead making is a tradition and high art form in Africa. Producing these beads is labor intensive and founded on a balance of creative vision and attention to detail. I spent one month working alongside bead makers in Ghana, learning each step of the process and collaborating on design.
The artisans gather Coke and wine bottles, window glass and other unwanted glass and pound it into pieces or grind it into powder by hand - a physically exhausting task. Sometimes powdered natural colors are added during this stage. Afterward, the pieces or powder-called "frit"- are placed into hand-made molds derived from local clay that is dug by hand and pounded with a large stick. The clay is then kneaded relentlessly, shaped into a mold and fired in a kiln. I crafted a clay mold myself, treasuring its connection to the earth and role in the process.
Before the powdered frit is placed into the molds, a stem from a cassava plant is inserted into each mold's cavity to create a hole in the bead. Once filled with frit, the molds are run through the kiln, and the frit turns to liquid. When the molds are removed from the fire, the artisans rotate the cooling molten glass with a thin metal tool to create a round bead. It takes great patience and dexterity to crate smooth, rounded beads. Each bead is coaxed into form with human hands.

Once cooled and cleaned, the beads are ready to bridge continents: the dedicated world of Ghanaian artisans and my own. Those who wear my creations complete the circle that unites these two cultures. Each piece is a collaboration, connecting the essence of the human soul across time and borders and expressing the beauty that arises from relationships.

To touch a single bead is to extend a hand of friendship across the earth and support artisans around the globe.


   


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