Bead Belt c. 1936

Gordena Jackson made this Bead Belt, sometime before 1993, presumably with beads. The cool blues and greens, punctuated by those white diamonds, give it a crisp feel. I love thinking about how much time and care went into placing each tiny bead. Artmaking is often about that rhythm, the process of repetition, whether it’s brushstrokes or beads. Looking closely, you can almost feel the texture, the way the beads would catch the light. The fringe at the ends adds this sense of movement. Imagine someone wearing this, the beads swaying with each step. It's like the whole piece is breathing. I keep coming back to the diamonds, how they’re both solid and kind of dissolving at the edges. It reminds me a little of Anni Albers's weaving, that same attention to pattern and material. It’s all part of this ongoing conversation, artists borrowing and riffing off each other across time. And that’s the thing about art, isn’t it? It’s never just one thing. It’s always open to interpretation.