How are the beads made?

Most people are intrigued to know how the women paint the tiny, intricate designs onto the beads that they use to make the jewellery. The fascinating thing is that they are NOT painted on! Each design is made up as a cane. A cane is made when you arrange shaped tubes of polymer clay into a log so that a design continues for the entire length of the log. It’s a bit like blackrock candy, or really complicated sushi. When you cut a slice from a well made cane, the design on the slice will always look the same. The cane can be made smaller (reduced) by squeezing it. If this is done slowly and carefully, even a design that is quite large (many centimetres across) can be reduced to a very small design. The women of Samunnat make their intricate designs reasonably large and then reduce them before cutting the cane into slices to decorate their beads. Below is a video showing the tiny slices being applied to the surface of the bead. Find out more in the fascinating videos here.

‘I don’t feel like a victim any more…now I see myself as an artist”

Pramila

Intricate designs and fabulous colours

 
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Learning about polymer

In 20o7 a small group of women learnt the basics of polymer clay when Wendy Moore began teaching them. They learnt about colour mixing and design. They learnt what a western oven was and how to use it. They worked in a tiny, dusty office and made some beautiful beads. the techniques were recorded and photographed and those ladies went on to teach more ladies.

The women primarily use Kato clay which they order from America. Other clays did not work so well in the hot sticky conditions. The clay needs to be stiff enough to hold the designs when the cane is sliced.

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becoming artists

Many of the women now making the polymer jewellery have been working with polymer for over a decade. They are experts and the intricacy of their designs is widely acknowledged in the polymer clay community. The studio runs on an apprenticeship model with more experienced women teaching the new ladies on the less difficult tasks and gradually increasing the complexity of what they learn. One of the most exciting moments for Wendy was when, after months of learning about making the beads and proudly looking at one of her lovely necklaces, Pramila said I don’t feel like a victim anymore; now I see myself as an artist.