Dear Ornament Reader,

We hope you enjoy our first issue of 2006. It has been a mad race to finish this one and get it to you, as this year our publication frequency increases to five issues per year, and, happily, to anticipate our thirtieth anniversary of Ornament in the autumn. So there have been some adjustments to the work flow that we are still trying to get under our belt. Our May issue will show our return to the usual number of pages, adding to the value and satisfaction that you will continue to receive as an Ornament reader.

When we are working on an issue, like the one you are holding in your hands, the level of activity here is so concerted that all of us on staff can only concentrate on the tasks that need to be completed so that you can enjoy the fruits of our labor. It is not easy to find the time to reflect or think about broader issues. Nevertheless it dawned on us that every issue has broad common threads uniting the diverse topics that Ornament covers. Cultural, familial and past work experiences exert powerful and sometimes invisible influences on the subjects of Volume 29, No. 3.

As Steven Grafe states in his article on Columbia River Plateau beadwork traditions: “The wearing of fine clothing and adornment has been a way by which Columbia River peoples display their pride. Beaded items make a public statement about family priorities, about cultural identity, and about the importance of promoting and preserving culture.”

The informal learning of varied fabrication techniques and toolworking by Susan Brooks, while accompanying her model- and moldmaker father at work, and to now use his tools on her own jewelry, offers powerful and poignant reinforcement for the sometimes pivotal role of family culture. (One of us still occasionally uses the Bronica camera his brother David used to shoot the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and treasures the hand tools and scale rulers that his late engineer brother John gave him.) Because Karen McCreary is fascinated with light, as in the way light acts in gemstones, this experiential background lead to her making clear acrylic, an industrial plastic, into a beautiful and mystical artform through her having it interact with the color of lacquer, goldleaf and/or LEDs.

While the makers of Mauritanian powder-glass Kiffa beads are largely unknown, these women are no less consummate artists, having in the past been handed down this unique tradition, which is both spiritual and manual. Their products are perhaps the most unique of any glassmakers; the finest examples are unrivaled in their aesthetics and intricacy. For the one hundred twenty well-known artists in the 2006 Smithsonian Craft Show, their respect and memory for the artistic legacy passed on by those from other times and places help them take up the challenge to ennoble the world with their contemporary works.

Ada and Daniel Chiu, of Acme Designs, symbolic of the best examples of immigrants, came to the United States and plunged into a new life and career, making a business that helps the people of their native China retain traditional skills while earning a livelihood and provides the West with attractive handmade ornaments that enable designers here to expand their creativity. Christi Friesen, drawing upon her past sculptural abilities with fired clay, built upon this experience to excel in her new endeavor of polymer clay jewelry.

For all of us who work within the craft field, it is vital to receive satisfaction from what we do and also to appreciate the derivation of our creative and technical abilities. To have pride and respect for our past, whether cultural, familial or experiential, helps make our lives much more meaningful and anchors us in the ever-surging flow of human life.

 

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