Progress: Métis Beaded Bracelet - 4/5: #24. Make 5 Different First Nations Crafts

Métis beadwork is a combination of traditional First Nations methods, with iconography taken from European textiles. As such, originally we were known as the "flower beadwork people", because this image was not seen in beading before.

Today, I decided to bead and craft a bracelet. With the exception of the bracelet's underside, all material is from my friend Megan, who once lived and worked in the Yukon for some time. 

I have never before attempted freehand beading - though I am the direct descendent of an embroidery-pro mother, and also spent many hours on end over a loom as a child. I'd fashion my own patterns for bracelets and get lost in them all day. It was more of a math, though, that.

Today, though, I felt like I was tapping into that same capacity for attention that exists solely between me and an art. This took all day. I didn't bother to think about going back to work tomorrow after a long winter vacation. I didn't bother to be anxious or worry, and mark or sleep instead.

Crafting is meditative. I also think it's something for which I have a bit of natural skill - be it genetics, or cultivation, or interest.

I'm really happy with this one - not the least of all reasons being that I finally have a bracelet to properly fit the proportions of my miniscule wrist.

 

I plan to make my own regalia vest within the next couple years. It's good to know that the beading won't be too much of a problem. I'm sure further attempts will yield even more learned results, too.

[Original goal list posted here.]