Welcome to Kasin Hunter's  Beaded Gourds 'n' More, 2002 Page 3. With one of my sidelines being the sell of Devil's Claws, eventually I had to add a beaded claw to my collection. In short order, I beaded this little gem in about two days during early March, 2002. This is a depiction of a Bird From Hades complete with fiery wings. Bead sizes are 18/0, very small. Bead colors are transparent in red, amber, green, turquoise, and black opaque. Also I added copper 14/0 on the top of "wing" base. Eyes are 18/0 maroon opaque. The claw was disinfected and whitened before use. To give you a better idea of the seed intensity with these smaller beads, there are five rows of various colored beads on the "wings" alone - copper, green, amber, blue, and black. This piece now hangs in my living room as an everyday ornament. It looks wonderful in the sun's light.

A glance back into my beading history. In early January, 2002, the first time I settled into making a beaded purse (challenge! challenge!) and also while trying hard to master the gourd (Peyote) stitch, I worked on this keepsake - an amulet pouch - for my mother, Barbara. The pouch is made of opaque turquoise, copper and black Czechoslovakian beads, 10 or 11/0 and has an irregular flapped opening on top. I was still having trouble with the turn arounds at the ends of the rows and lost a few beads here and there - whole rows for that matter probably (whew!) - but did manage to get her initial "B" on the back of the pouch without freaking out. On the front, I stitched on this Hopi Dancer earring - from a set of Mom's very first earrings. The earrings are the old fashioned clip-on kind and are about 50 years old now. Dad purchased the earring set for her to wear along with the first squaw dress she ever owned. He spent a whole paycheck on that dress and the earrings. I think it meant a lot to her to see the earrings out and used again. She got a little weepy when I gave the pouch to her. It wasn't until about a month later that I learned about the Odd Count Peyote stitch and a better way to make the turns at the ends of the rows. Also I found out about a better thread to help with evenness of the project. Learning about beading and seeing one's progress is fun. I feel I'm really growing with this new beading interest. Plus, I can still incorporate gourds in some fashion into the beading work, which is double reward. In a year from now, it will be fun to go back and see the progress I've made by looking at the quality of work on these early pieces. I already see progress in just these few months.

More completed projects coming soon.

2001 Gourd Art Gallery by Kasin Hunter?

or

Art From My Heart gourd art gallery