Bead Journal Project ~ Christi C ~ A Sense of Place

Above is a preview of a feast for your eyes which follows!

Christi C. lives on lovely Lopez Island, which is one in a chain of islands off the NW coast of Washington state, known as the San Juan Islands. This place is near and dear to me, as I also live here on one of the islands.


Christi joined the 07-08 BJP and completed her piece for the first month, which was June. Then life got in the way and for some months she didn't do any beading at all. After a while, she realized there was something missing in her life and that she needed to return to beading and the BJP. This year, in November, she is working on last year's November piece. She plans to finish all 12 pieces to complete the project.

Personally I very much identify with Christi's work, feel its pull on my heart and hear the songs in her designs... She's chosen to explore her relationship with the place where she lives, showing with found objects and beads what her island is like. I love the notion of art used to reveal a sense of place and her pieces do it particularly well in my opinion! Since she is another BJPer who doesn't have a web presence, I've photographed her pieces and you get to see them (all click-to-enlarge) below!


^June ~ Driftwood ~ the beach and all the water that surrounds her.


^July ~ Lavender ~ Christi grows lavender as a business and July is the height of the growing season.


^August ~ Three Shells ~ about the sky.


^September ~ Lichen ~ this lovely grey-green plant form becomes more apparent in early fall.


^October ~ Madrona Bark ~ distinctive tree with rust-colored bark, found only along the NW coast.


^November ~ Beach Stone ~ about fog and layers of clouds in the sky, both of which are common at this time of year. This one is still in progress.

I think it's fabulous that Christi is continuing to work toward completion of her 12 pieces for the 07-08 BJP! I personally know three other women who are also still finishing their pieces for the first BJP... I am so very proud of them (and many others unknown to me) for their perserverance!

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If you have any interest in seeing photographs of our islands, my husband, Robert Demar, also explores his relationship to the place where we live. You can see his photography here. Some of my favorite images are here and here. He's done two studies of Madrona trees (featuring macro pictures of their peculiar fracturing bark)... one in black & white and one in color.