Elaine Zukowski
Beads have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. The entire length of my mother’s forearm has always been covered with large, colorful bracelets of stitched seed beads; personal adornment she created in her 20’s. As a child I entertained myself by moving and turning the bracelets on her arm like an abacus. Observing the way that people reacted to her vibrant array gave me a window into the performative power of jewelry- as a conversation starter, and as a way of sharing one’s story with others. I developed my own process of bead weaving after studying tatting, a method of lacemaking that evolved from nautical knots. Using fine gauge mild steel wire to knot sections allows the beading to hold a shape that contains negative space. Other sections are woven with cotton thread, which creates flexibility and drape. These forms have a structure that yields to a firm touch; but does not spontaneously bend or distort. Their flexibility permits them to mold to the body’s shape, and the hollow interior allows light to catch the glass from all directions. The brooches are attached to the wearer’s garments with steel beads and magnets, allowing the wearer to re position the adornment as desired. The choice to render a simple nautical knot in beadwork serves to draw the viewer’s attention to this overlooked but essential form. Tying knots is an early and elemental part of human evolution, one that proves its ubiquitous use to this day. The functional forms are found from our shoelaces to surgeon’s ministrations to fiber optic cables. Knotting in an ornamental fashion has long been part of daily adornment in many cultures. Rendering a humble slip knot in a series of steel knots with glass beads causes me to plan, puzzle, and regard the swooping loops differently than if formed with rope. The focus needed to plot curves and the labor that painstakingly accumulates is an act of observation akin to painting a portrait. Knots are connected with memory, accounting, and the marking of time. The simple act of tying serves as an exercise in material manipulation, the exploration of the possibilities of a single line. My own time and memory are woven and captured in this piece.
Slipknot, glass beads, steel wire, thread, 2021