Indigenous Arts Market award recipient, Ricketts, teaches beadwork workshop
7/10/2015 3:00:00 PM - Ziibiwing Cultural Center

As the 2014 Circle of Indigenous Arts Market People’s Choice Award recipient, Alice Jo Ricketts has an abundance of beadwork knowledge.  Ricketts taught her artistic skills during the Ziibiwing Center-hosted, Charles Schwab-sponsored Artist-in-Residence “The Art of Beadwork Workshop” May 18-22.

            Ricketts taught 28 adults during a five-day workshop 5:30-8 p.m., $35 per person with all materials provided.

            “I taught the students how to make earrings with Swarovski gems, and mid-week I taught them how to make medallions/necklaces,” Ricketts said. “Some made sports logos, some created their own designs; strawberries, Ojibwe floral and butterflies. The students were excited to see what they could create. Many of them were easy to teach and caught on quickly.”

            Now 49 years old, she began beading when she was 11 years old.

            “I started getting interested in beading when I was a child because I would watch my older cousins and sister work on projects,” she said. “As I watched them, I decided to give it a try. I actually taught myself to bead from watching them.”

             During the final day for the 2014 Indigenous Arts Market, Ricketts won the People’s Choice Award for her “Jiijak Kwe” (Crane woman) bandolier bag. She said it was one of the most exciting things she’s ever experienced.

            She said that bandolier bag is her favorite piece she’s ever made.

            Her advice to beginner beaders is to “never give up on your projects. So many times I would want to give up, but as I worked on it and saw the progression, I would see beauty coming forth. I often mention beadwork is like people; we are all a work in progress.”

            Her beadwork may be viewed on her Facebook page at facebook.com/public/Alice-Jo-Ricketts.