Cindy Caraway

Cindy Caraway
Wearable Art and Beaded Adornment

Cindy Caraway is a fellow beadweaver and owner of an Etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5734666

I visited her website and this is what I found out:

News from The Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta 2009!
I received my jewelry back from Albuquerque and was very excited when I opened the box! I found several ribbons, a check and a Rio Grande gift certificate. It seems "Amber Bear Cuff" and "Tea Rose Garden Party" both placed 1st in their division AND "Tea Rose" won Best In Show for beadwork - WOO HOO! I took this photo right after unpacking the box.

I decided to ask Cindy to tell us more about her art in order to know her better.

"I started making jewelry back in the late 80's - so around 20 years. (Has it really been that long??)I had taken a teaching job in Arizona and was interested in finding a new hobby. During a trip to the library, I came upon a book about making black wire jewelry. I really enjoyed it and started making necklaces, pendants and bracelets and sold several in a local record store. A friend suggested I add beads for interest and that was the beginning of the end! I got more interested in the beads and ultimately dropped the wire altogether. The beads just kept getting smaller and smaller and my love of beadweaving was born.

Believe it or not, the first time I wrapped peyote stitch around a cabochon, I thought I had invented it! What a rude awakening when I realized that the Native Americans (among others) had been doing it for centuries! Once I realized there was a world of beadweaving out there, I started looking for books and such. I am not good at diagrams so it's a miracle I ever learned any of the skills I do have. I would say that Carol Wilcox Wells' book "Creative Bead Weaving" was a true epiphany about the artistic possibilities of beadwork.

I have to say that I can find inspiration just about everywhere. Songs, poetry, movies, nature, architecture, abstract artwork. I am incredibly inspired by other artists - particularly those whose mediums are mixed media, collage or assemblage. These are art forms I have only dabbled in and left behind but LOVE to look at. Another thing that helps my creativity is TIME which I seem to have none of lately. My ideas have to simmer for a while before I start picking through my stash and putting together a soup of sorts.



The one thing I would like to spend all of my time doing is the one thing that I have a hard time finding the time to do! It's hard to for me to be creative on the clock. Being a singer, I can't listen to songs with words while I work because my thoughts are always on the lyrics. I love classical music - especially Mozart and Bach. I find it energizing but not too frantic. I also enjoy listening to Windham Hill artists - my favorite is Liz Story.

I love fishing! It fuels my creativity! We live on the Mississippi River and have a small fishing boat. I love to be out on the river fishing! Just having the time to sit still and breath the fresh air really does the soul good. And having a nice fresh fish dinner isn't so bad either :)



I enjoy making large pieces and, while I have never kept track of the hours spent on a particular piece, I know they take tens of hours to complete. I try to budget 2 hours a day for beadwork but, like I said before, I don't work well "on the clock". When I really get going on a piece, though, I can spend the whole day completely lost in it. Some of my favorite pieces belong to my mother and I don't even have photos of them in my portfolio! (Hmm... I should do that.) I really love "Canyonlands". It was the first piece that really garnered any attention or awards so it holds a special place in my heart.

Mentors? Not really. I am a bead weaver stuck in a stringin' town!! We don't even have a bead shop! My favorite artists are an eclectic group. It includes Frank Gehry (architect), Frank Lloyd Wright (architect) and Chuck Jones (cartoonist/director). The list of bead artists I admire is endless and getting longer all the time. There are too many names to mention!!"



Thank you Cindy for sharing your passion for creating beautiful things with us!