Photo courtesy of the Bead Society of Greater Washington
Ophelia’s Necklace by Penelope Diamanti

Washington Bead Museum show imagines jewels for Shakespeare’s most famous characters

by KATE WINSTON

Would you recognize the murderous Lady Macbeth if she sat next to you on the bus? Would you notice the beautiful, innocent Desdemona if she passed you on the street? Look a little closer and perhaps their jewelry will betray them.

Beaded jewelry has the potential to tell a story about a person, according to Ellen Benson, the curator of the newest exhibit at the Washington Bead Museum. “To Bead or Not to Bead” is a modern look at jewelry that embodies Shakespeare’s most famous characters.

The pieces on exhibit are “intimate, personal responses by the artists to the powerful human emotions that Shakespeare portrayed so masterfully in his plays,” Benson said in the brochure for the exhibit.

Benson asked several Washington artists to interpret scenes from a Shakespearian play into pieces of beaded art. From necklaces to fans to hats, each piece represents the character and the emotions of the scene.

The themes in Shakespeare’s plays are still so resonant that the artists had no problem finding inspiration, Benson said. “When I asked these designers to do something, they immediately had an image in their head,” she said.

In the description for “Ophelia’s Necklace When She Drowns,” artist Penelope Diamanti explains her creative process. “I immediately had a vision of Ophelia being fished out of the river dripping in vines, with river grasses, duckweed and perhaps some flowers from the shore clinging to her clothing.”

Although the necklace would not be out of place on a modern woman, it carries the themes of the Shakespearian scene. Tangled green yarn and green pendants hang from the multiple silver chains. Amethyst and pearl beads evoke both royalty and the watery demise of Ophelia.

“A Necklace of Grief and Remorse,” by Kathleen Manning is meant to express the emotion of the final scene of Othello.

Act V, ii

Othello: Speak of me as I am; . . .

Of one that loved not wisely but too well;

Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought

Perplex’d in the extreme; of one whose hand . . .

Threw a pearl away . . . of one whose subdued eyes,

Albeit unused to the melting mood,

Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees

Their medicinal gum.

The silver roses and tear-drop crystals portray Venetian nobility and Othello’s remorse, respectively. “The pearl crosses are reminiscent of pale, windswept crosses in ancient church yards,” Manning said in her description of the work. The chaotic, asymmetric design depicts despair and also makes it a funky, chic and wearable piece.

Historically, jewelry expressed status, identity or a rite of passage, Benson said. “Jewelry is still a token of love, you know, there are all those friendship bracelets and valentine’s things and I guess the engagement ring. The ring is still something that tells you about the marital status of a woman.”

Benson enjoyed curating the exhibit because it combined her literature degree with her interest in beads. “I would call our small exhibit the bead museum’s way of paying homage to Shakespeare, and doing it in an individualistic approach,” she said.

Several of the designers began their storytelling careers in a different medium: journalism. Anita Gumpert, the designer of Lady Macbeth’s necklace was a reporter for Agence France-Press. Penelope Diamante received a master’s in journalism from Berkeley before working for the National Geographic Society. She now owns three Washington-area bead stores named “Bedazzled.”

Most people become interested in making bead jewelry because it so accessible, Benson said. “I think people are drawn to beads because it is a medium where, at many skill levels, you can make something yourself,” she said.

“It’s flourishing so much in this country. You walk into Bedazzled on a weekend or in the evening and the place is packed. It’s become a huge hobby. And some of them, they grow beyond hobby and it becomes a money-making thing,” Benson said.

“To Bead or Not to Bead,” will be on display until June 16, 2007 at the Bead Museum: 400 7th Street Northwest, Washington D.C.