Kat West Beaded Art

The historical, social, and artistic elements of beadwork have been discussed in depth by many others with greater eloquence and erudition than I possess.

In fact, little can be said about beads that has not been said already. I bead because I love every aspect of beading.

Most tutorials on beading techniques begin with "Once the basics are mastered, the variations are endless". With beading, all roads lead to greater roads. Here the doors of creativity are flung wide. This is, in my opinion, the greatest era of beading in its' entire history. Not only do we have technology that never before existed, beads have become an art medium.

One night I was sitting at my worktable gazing at some beads. I started thinking about everything that went into having them before me. My mind was reeling when I contemplated the hundreds of years of miners, glass artists, stone cutters, ship builders, machinists, merchants and all the other elements that contributed to the ability to produce the beads and put them before me.

From the most simple single strand necklace where the beads stand alone, to the most timely and complex design work I am thrilled and engaged from start to finish. Even when some of the repetitive elements of a piece could begin to feel tedious, I find a meditative quality to beading. The mind chatter ceases. Focus produces clarity. Along the way I have been privileged to meet many people who have been kind, generous and encouraging. I want to thank all of them. I want to thank you for taking the time to view this site.

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