Jewelry

I began making jewelry while on mission to Accra, Ghana as an Art and ESL Teacher, K to high school.  I wanted to make pottery Christmas presents for the generous, friendly people who helped me daily including the 24/7 guards we needed in order to be safer while living there.  However, glaze ran out and was no where to be found until weeks after the holiday.   So I began to use the beautiful beads I had collected because of the fine craftsmanship and African bead making tradition.   And was ab le to give gifts to many whether male or female.  I jsut said to give the earrings to a special woman in your life.  That was the start of making jewelry for me.  Now, I use beads I admire; whether from Africa, the Phillipines, Austria, India or any other country.   

African Beads

I often choose beads from Ghana, known for centuries for its handcrafted beads.   Beads in Africa are a status symbol. The more beads the more status.  Kings and Queens of tribes may wear beads on their arms, neck, thighs, ankles, waist.  Nowadays everyone still loves beads and they are made painstakingly and in intense heat.  I know I stood talking with bead makers who were very thin, worked for hours daily, and sweat ran down their brows and bodies. It was so hot, I had to get out from under their tin roof after talking with them for an hour.  I felt honored to be able to watch them handle each bead one by one and put holes in each bead while it is in a nearly molten state. 

I offer a portion of the profits to help educate a child from a remote village in Ghana.

You will find a few of my jewelry pieces in Sunset River Gallery in Calabash, NC & at Una Luna in Chandler's Wharf in Wilmington, NC.   You can always call me or email me at my studio and I could email you a picture of what I currently available.

mountainbirdpottery@yahoo.com   910-262-4454