More Early Images: Sarah Shriver

Are you hooked on Kathleen Dustin’s presentation about the work done by the early polymer bead makers? Then, you’ll want to see even more images by those pioneers. After each of Kathleen’s installments, I have been providing you with an expanded view of those artists’ early work.

In the gallery that follows you can put Sarah Shriver’s work into context over a decade.  Click on each image to examine each piece more closely.

Sarah Shriver, Early Caned Pins

Sarah Shriver, Early Caned Jewelry, 1989

In response to my fact-checking email, Sarah wrote:  “In the early days I was using a lot of ethnic textiles for inspiration and was motivated primarily by pattern. I had not developed a color pallet that I was comfortable with and stuck mostly with the bold graphic images using black, ivory, rust, burgundy and dabbling in blues. The fishbone graphic (which I still use) came about because I had made a bracelet using an arrow image (black on an ivory back ground) and I wanted to set it next to a contrasting composition to make it more interesting. I came up with the fish bone as it had a very similar silhouette and looked good with the inverted color scheme. When I began selling, I explored the wholesale markets and sold thousands of buttons through a distributor but in the end, decided to sell only retail in combination with teaching which has now been my only job for nearly 20 years….. Yeah!”

If you enlarge each of the images that follow, you can take a closer look at how Sarah’s fishbone cane evolved over time.

Sarah Shriver, Fish Bone Necklace, 1987

Sarah Shriver, Black and Ivory Single Strand Necklace, 1989

Sarah Shriver, Rust String Necklace, 1990

Sarah Shriver, Black and Ivory Collar Necklace, circa 1990

Detail from above

Sarah Shriver, Black and Ivory Collar Necklace, circa 1991