Blue Floral Necklace

Tlingit, Nuxalk, Tagish
24k Gold beads, Antique beads, Spinel beads, 24k-plated Mica beads, Onyx beads, Antique mother of pearl buttons, Mini plastic buttons, Paua beads, Labradorite beads, Melton wool and Yukon commercial tanned moose hide
3” x 3 1/2”

My Teacher Collection

All patterns I was gifted from my sewing teachers or took from my family's patterns. I always thought those older styles were so classy and so beautiful, I remember inspecting beadwork and being amazed with how flat the work was and how it felt like all the beads fit perfectly together. Two of my "teachers" had three petal flowers but the way the petals were placed made them look so different from each other. The large burgundy floral patterns were given to me by grandma Annie Smith and the small pink florals are from work I saw my great great grandmother Edith Henderson do. So many similarities among nations with these simpler floral patterns, I think seeing all the different variations and fills are so beautiful. I tried to use colors I saw in work when I was small, where my love for beadwork began. I'm doing a few others with some of the other patterns I have and trying to remember other classic color pairings. Dark blue outlining a light blue makes me think of older work too, what color ways remind you of our grandmother's beadwork.