March 31, 2024

Hi Everyone —

A few weeks ago, I was stitching with Erin, one of our newer NJNA members. Erin told me about a beading exhibit at the Morris Museum. So, the two Sues (C and R) and I decided to make an outing to see the Jan Huling “Everything is Alive” exhibit.

I haven’t posted for a long while, but I know we have some beading fanatics in NJNA, so I wanted to share a few pictures and encourage you to get out to see the exhibit if you can. It runs through May 26.

The star of the show is the Preying Mantis.

Here’s a picture that will give you some idea of the scale of the Preying Mantis.

Now a little close-up of her tail(?) — I’m sure there is a more scientific name.

I though this dog looked so regal.

Many of the dozens of creatures are whimsical and feature wings and jewels. Erin had gone to the lecture and showed me a picture of the artist’s car hood — yep, fully beaded!

A permanent exhibit of Native American artifacts also features beaded items. So this makes an interesting juxtaposition of the old and the new beads. There were so many beads on the artifacts that we stopped to think about where the beads came from. This too was explained by signage — in trade with European fur trappers!

I hope I convinced you to make a field trip to Morristown! Prepare to be amazed!

Cheers, Rosie