Bead Figurines

I have beaded for about 23 years now. When I first started I looked at pattern diagrams, but over time my hands started to take chage. I only have a vague notion of what I'm going to make when I start. I cut a suitable length of wire, and let my hands take over the rest. I don't make much jewelry; what I make are figurines.

St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. Sold into slavery as a young aristrocratic boy, he became a priest after gaining his freedom and returned to Ireland as a missionary. His use of the shamrock to explain the Trinity is especially well-known. He is photographed here among the shamrocks.

Believe it or not, he does have legs inside his robe.

Pearl beads make excellent craniums. (Actually "crania," but only a fellow nerd with four years of high school Latin would appreciate this...)

A fairy and a leprechaun. Fairies are not usually malicious but they can be very self-centered. If they find their own babies lacking in charm, they think nothing of exchanging them for human babies, and though it's magnaminous of them to include humans in their ceilidhs, they neglect to warn human dancers that one song can last three centuries. If you see a ring of toadstools, you are witnessing the aftermath of a delightfully wild fairy dance party.

Leprechauns seem to actually enjoy tricking humans with their promises of the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow. Perhaps because there are no female leprechauns, they do not multiply. Hardly an infestation. Although they are generally immortal, they have two known downfalls: alcohol; and human disbelief. The latter in particular appears to be taking a toll on their population numbers in recent years.