Kiny McCarrick

Artist Statement

ARTIST STATEMENT
July 2017

I am a bead artist residing in Carmichael, CA. I am mostly self taught through trial and error and the help of a little magical dreaming. I began my career doing beaded regalia for Native American dancers, including pieces worn in a production of The American Indian Dance Theater. The pieces took over 500 hours to complete and became the foundation for creating my own vision with beadwork..

Beading is a time consuming art and requires large blocks of quiet, meditative time. It requires a lot of space for a multitude of tiny objects and is not something that can be put away easily on a daily basis. As my children have grown, my art has evolved and transformed with each new year. My boys are older now and I am lucky enough to have a permanent studio and I don’t have to worry about my kids eating beads anymore.

I’m very excited about my new body of work consisting of beaded sculptures. I use found objects and Apoxie Sculpt to create fantastical creatures, covering the entire surface in glass seed beads, glass bugle beads, rhinestones, acrylic gems and handmade metal beads. The beads are applied one by one. My current work finds inspiration in traditional Huichol beadwork, mosaic art and The Land of Misfit Toys. I’m enjoying the freedom of sculpture and hope you will continue to follow my work.