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Bead Expo 2000 - Summary
Designers' Showcase
Curator Anne Durand selected work from over 50 renowned contemporary artists whose media include gems, beads, glass, precious metals, textiles, and found objects in creations ranging from elegant and streamlined to exuberant and exotic.
The discriminating buyer will find jewelry, textiles, shoes, hats, clothing, and more to enchant the eye and capture the creative spirit. Prices range from $55 to $5,500. The Designers Showcase is a rare opportunity to see this caliber and range of work in one location. Many of these artists seldom participate in public events and only sell directly to collectors.
Anne Durand, Curator of the Designers Showcase, is the founder and owner of Arts Afire Glass Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, where she shows 320 glass artists working in many genre, including glass beads and jewelry. She is also a connoisseur of wearable art and artist-made clothing.
In her words,
There is something about a beautiful piece of art that, when you hold it, you can feel what went into making it. With wearable art, when you put it on your body the spirit of the artist is present, and you become a participant in the ongoing creation of that work.
Our souls long for creative energy, beauty, harmony. Wearable art speaks to people, it resonates with their being. As with any art form, not every person likes every piece. Wearable art is about the individual's response to the spirit that is in a piece, the total creativity of the artist's life in that work. A strong piece will actually vibrate in your hand because of the intense creativity that it embodies.
Selecting and wearing this art is a very personal experience. You have to follow your instincts and find out what resonates for you. Blind people come into my gallery to buy beads and jewelry because wearable art is so tactile and vibrant. To wear a strong piece is to actually internalize the energy of the artist. It becomes a part of you and you become part of the artwork by adding your life to it.
Wearable art invites comment and contact. It draws people to you and opens you to a whole new way of relating to the world. You have to be an individualist, and perhaps something of a non-conformist.
Artist-made clothing is exciting to wear. You can tell the care that went into making it, the beauty of the materials, the feeling of the fabric on your skin. Couture clothing is the fashion of the moment. Hand-made art clothing is not made for a trend, it is made from the heart. It never goes out of style and it hardly ever wears out. Hand-made art clothing is comfortable, durable, and timeless.
For the Designers Showcase, I have invited over 50 award-winning artists who work in glass, metal, fiber, gems, and mixed media. It is very rare to bring such diverse jewelry and wearable art together in one location. Many of these artists seldom participate in shows because their work is in such demand that they have a difficult time keeping their collectors supplied. It is a wonderful treat for the public to be able to see and purchase such high caliber work.
ARTISTS IN THE DESIGNERS SHOWCASE
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