12-page beaded love story (in-progress)

Tilt tells the story of two people who are drifting apart from each other, both literally and emotionally. One tries to fight the drifting by chasing the other. Because the story is not reflected through words or dialogue, I convey this push and pull between the two characters through scale and perspective shifts.

100,000 glass beads
300 yards of thread (approximate)
30 needles (more or less)
One trip to urgent care (so far)

Beadwork is traditionally and historically women’s work. Like other modes of knowledge originating with women, the production and transmission has historically been characterized as nonintellectual and lesser compared to that of their male counterparts, thus undermining and invalidating it. Another obstacle is the historical categorization of women’s knowledge as “non-knowledge” by the West because of the domestic nature of women’s work, which continues to prop up hierarchical and patriarchal structures.

Beading and other craftwork has a long and rich feminist history. Through my use of beading as a method for creative inquiry, I follow in the footsteps of thousands of years of women across the world who used beading to heal, build community and relationships, tell stories, and share knowledge.