Last Saturday afternoon at Family Art Labs we took an in depth look at prayer beads from around the world through an exploration of the exhibition, Count Your Blessings: The Art of Prayer Beads in Asia. Following our exploration, we crafted our own beaded creations in the art studio.
We began our workshop in the Museum. Most participants arrived knowing little about prayer beads, but were able to use their Activity Guides to discover what materials they are often made with, where the beads are from, how many beads can be found in a set, and many other facts that tell us more about prayer beads.
We returned to the Education Center feeling inspired to create our own beaded artworks. We began by becoming familiar with a few basic jewelry-making techniques: elastic jewelry, wire jewelry, homemade tassels, and beaded lanyard. Choosing from the variety of beads (most found at Materials for the Arts!) might have been a few of our participants’ favorite part of the workshop.
After the beads and other supplies were selected, everyone got to work, coming up with some incredibly inventive bead creations!
Some participants worked alone…
…While others worked as a team!
I can imagine these beaded bracelets (created by one of our participants) being hung in a museum one day!
I hope that you’ll join us for next month’s Family Art Lab: The Art of Nepali Paper Making. We’ll explore the art of paper making in Nepal and then we’ll create our own paper from recycled and natural materials!
Also, don’t forget to join us on Saturday, November 2nd from 12-4pm for Family Day: Festival of Lights, where we’ll be celebrating Diwali with a day of crafts, stories, dance, and music! Find out more information about this event by visiting our website.