|
Visiting Artist - Jeannette Cook -
Oct. 20 - 22, 2006
Jeannette Cook’s goal is to enlighten, educate and inspire people to
create beauty and to help them express themselves through beadwork.
Teaching is her number one joy! She has been teaching for 20 years,
beading for 36 years and was born to be an artist. Jeannette says, “So
many of my students are literally afraid to bust out and create
freeform, fun beadwork. By the end of the class session, many thank me
for pushing them beyond previous limits. This is the most satisfying
aspect of teaching. To see larger photos of the workshop samples or to
see more of Jeannette’s designs, go to
www.beadyeyedwomen.com.
Jeannette Really Cooks!
by Jeanne Maher
 The 2006 Visiting
Artist Program came to a successful end with the long-awaited arrival of
sculptural peyote artist Jeannette Cook. Again, CABO President
April Fields shared her home and her talent for entertaining by hosting
the weekend. Eleven CABO members and one non-member took both classes.
The events began with a Thursday evening cocktail party and trunk show.
Members enjoyed a variety of wines and hors d’oeuvres while getting to
know Jeannette. The coffee table was decorated with samples of all of
Jeannette’s visionary and masterful designs. While the photos on
Jeannette’s web site offer an enticing display of her artwork, they do
not capture the texture and color, the intricacy of construction, or the
melding of techniques in each piece.
Seeing Jeannette’s work in
person, then, made it difficult for most shoppers to choose which kits
and patterns to buy. Of course, the variety of shapes and sizes of seed
beads available had everyone in the usual bead-shopping dilemma.
At least shoppers could attribute their over-spending on the wide
variety of beads needed for the classes! It was all for a good cause
though; Jeannette will donate 20% of sales to CABO.
Ten people attended the three-hour
"Mastering the Curl" class on Friday evening. This rather simple
technique was used to create a focal bead wrap for a pendant or
ornament. Jeannette’s twenty years of teaching experience were evident
in her ability to anticipate questions and give clear, concise
instructions. She was attentive to each person’s needs, and she gave
personalized directions when necessary. It was fun to see how each
student’s bead color and size choices influenced the size and shape of
the piece.
On Saturday morning, four of the
“curl masters” and two new students gathered to learn the art of
Freeform Sculptural Peyote while making a cuff. Jeannette’s samples
using this esoteric-looking technique seem beyond the average beader’s
ability. Yet the students all caught on quickly and agreed that, with a
little practice, it was really not so difficult! Many students hope
Jeannette will be invited back for a future Visiting Artist weekend.
The instructions for both of these
techniques are available in the third edition of Jeannette’s
self-published book A Sculptural Peyote Projects Primer, which is
available for $18. on her web site (www.beadyeyedwomen.com),
as are all her kits, patterns, and beads. The Executive Committee
wishes to thank April for hosting the events and Kathy King and her
family for hosting Jeannette at their home in Cary.
|
