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Ann Paxton |
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Spotlight Artist
Welcome to Spotlight Artist.
This week I am very pleased to introduce Ann Paxton as the Artist of the Week! Ann is a lovely person and an extraordinary designer. Her bags have left many of us breathless, and her designs are always stunning. I am also very excited about the beautiful pattern she has created for us. It is a bit of a departure from what we are used to seeing from Ann, but an incredibly beautiful design featuring an animal close to her heart. And, it is only available here on the Beadwork.About.com site!
And now, Ann Paxton:
"I have taken a roundabout road to becoming an artist. I entered law school on the eve of my 30th birthday and graduated as valedictorian of my class. I worked as a civil litigator for nine years and was a Judge of the San Diego Municipal Court, presiding over criminal cases, for ten years. Along the way, I collected contemporary art, then religious icons, and spent my free time working on various crafts. My husband, Jim, is a musician, who at one time was associated with The Grateful Dead. In January 1995, no longer content simply to associate with and read about artists, I resolved to become one. I had been working with beads for three years and chose them as my medium for expression.
I make peyote stitch amulet purses bearing images of saints, gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, artists, musicians, poets and philosophers. I think of them as "contemporary icons" because they go beyond traditional religious figures to include any widely venerated source of spiritual or creative inspiration. Thus, each icon pouch serves as a spiritual object, artwork and personal adornment.
As with traditional icons, most are recognizable, although some simply represent ideas. I draw the images from three sources: (1) photographs of actual people, i.e. Sathya Sai Baba; (2) paintings generally accepted as representing subjects of whom no photographs exist, i.e. Venus and Mary; and (3) my own renderings, which can be recognized as representing the figures or ideas because of specific characteristics or accouterments generally associated with them, i.e. Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The strap contains a message, usually something about the subject or a quotation (a favorite source is my husband's original songs). Recently, I have endeavored to make the messages inspirational and not merely descriptive.
I work the body in peyote stitch, using Delica beads in a variety of finishes and antique steel cut beads or tiny semi-precious stones for accents, weaving my name and year into the bottom, which is obscured by fringe.
Stitching beads one-by-one in peyote stitch is a sort of meditation for me. I dwell on the figure and all it represents as I bead. I use Delica beads because they are flat and create a smooth surface, which shows the detail well and covers the thread. I also like the feel of the work--flexible, like chain mail--and that it appears finished on both sides.
I enjoy the challenge of creating realistic looking, recognizable designs within the constraints imposed by the medium, among them: the peyote stitch brickwork grid pattern, which accommodates straight lines only in one direction; achieving detail in a limited space; the inability to blend colors (I think of the individual beads as pixels or mosaic tiles); and the limited availability of colors.
For me, the fringe is an offering or homage to the figure portrayed. I make it thick and extravagant, usually in two rows, twisted, with lots of metallic beads and semi-precious stones. I scour thrift and antique shops, garage sales and gem shows everywhere I travel for interesting pieces to hang from the fringe, including silver, antique brass, milagroes, charms and stone stars, hearts and animals.
Of course, an amulet purse does not become a contemporary icon until it moves or inspires another person. My work is so labor intensive (usually about 80 hours for design and execution) that cost prevents many from buying. However, I consider my goal accomplished when people experience pleasure in seeing one of my pieces."
Ann has also offered us a gorgeous pattern in honor of the elephants. It is a large file and may take a little while to load, but it is worth it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Please join me in thanking Ann Paxton for being with us this week. See you next time.
Click here for the complete listing of previous Artist of the Week features.
