"Pink Madness" is
a wrist bag made up of braintain buckskin, pearls, Swarovski
crystals, brass buttons, calico cloth, and 13 czech cut beads.
From Ken Williams Jr. Bio:
I am a beadworker. I was born
into this artistic tradition (in 1983) and I have had the benefit
of generations worth of knowledge and experience passed onto
me. Beadwork is something I grew up with. It is both familiar
and comforting. For these things I am very grateful.
I am mostly self-taught; I
began observing and experimenting with beadwork when I was six
years old. While residing on my father's reservation, the Cattaraugus
Seneca Indian Territory in western New York, my older brother
Dallin Maybee and I would experiment with beading and we learned
the techniques mostly through trial and error. I started with
basic necklaces and earrings, along with smaller miniature pouches,
which I sold locally to much success. I continue to work with
these types of projects until I was about 13.
As a teenager, I moved to
Utah and began to spend more time with my mother's family at
the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. My family there,
the Spoonhunters, have long been regarded as master beadworkers.
Their influence and guidance came at a pivotal point for me,
such that their support and inspiration spurred me to start bigger
projects like dolls, bags, cradleboards, and moccasins. Both
my late uncle Robert Spoonhunter and my aunt Agnes Spoonhunter
Logan were key role models who encouraged me to pursue beadwork
as a serious life endeavor. I resolved to focus on refining my
work - not only as a potential future for myself, but also to
reflect well upon my family's reputation.
In the spring of 2007, I graduated
from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Museum Studies. During my studies, I took advantage
of taking traditional beadwork classes from my "sister,"
and instructor, Teri Greeves. Teri encouraged me to discover
my "own" style and in many ways, she really broke me
out of my shell. I newly realized how my personal contemporary
style could interplay with hundreds of years of traditional beadwork
aesthetics. She instilled me with an added confidence about myself
and my work; this confidence came from recognizing who I am,
where I've been, and that my future is full of new possibilities.
All of this points to my current
work, which manifests a truly modern style that is still firmly
rooted in my traditional upbringing. I have come to focus mostly
on fancy bags of all sizes and shapes, including handbags, shoulder
pouches, and delicate pictorial purses. I strive to have my pieces
tell stories and build memories, not only for myself and my family,
but hopefully, also for those new people who I will meet that
are attracted to my work. As I look forward towards my future,
I am proud to say that my beadwork will continue to evolve, just
as the traditions themselves have done so before me.
