Using over 100,000 beads, local artist Louise Carter has created a wide variety of artworks for her new exhibition Seed Beads.
Seed Beads opens today, October 21, at the Jubilee Community Centre on what happens to be Louise’s birthday and runs until November 1.
The exhibition features a variety of sculptures made entirely from beads and thread.
“Almost all of my sculptures are self-supporting and are contemporary geometric forms, so there’s a lot of 3D shapes,” Louise said.
The exhibition will feature her shape series in which she attempts to create as many different shapes as possible.
There will also be an interactive element to the exhibition, with Louise creating a ‘stargazer’ out of silver and gold beads creating the effect of the night sky when looked into.
There will also be small geometric shapes that move similar to fidget spinners called kaleidocycles that Louise has created as well as miniature dresses.
Louise has always been creative but discovered beading in her late teens through workshops at Spotlight, later discovering a 3D bead ball on the internet and deciding to give it a go.
“It was a bit of a challenge, but it was really cool trying to figure it out, so that’s how I got started,” she said.
Louise has used the last 14 years or so to hone her craft and diversify her skillset.
“I really like figuring out the form and experimenting and exploring where things will go,” she said.
“A lot of people work out a pattern beforehand and I just have an idea and go from there and sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Louise is involved in an international group called the Beadworker’s Guild and is the Guild’s youngest guest ambassador to date.
She is running an international art project through the Guild which involves over 100 participants.
“Everyone’s making 2D pentagons which I’ll then make into a big, large shape so I will actually have some of the pentagons on display at the exhibition,” she said.
It will be a taste of what people can expect when Louise displays the final product of the art project in her second exhibition in June next year.
WHAT: ‘Seed Beads’ Art Exhibition
WHERE: Jubilee Community Centre
WHEN: Friday, October 21 to Monday, November 1
This is a free event
