beaded wall art

Hand-carved from native sese wood, this West African wall plaque is beautifully detailed. Artisan Musah Abdallah carefully defines a serene visage in the center, surrounded by colorful recycled glass beads and inlaid brass and aluminum triangles. He names his original design ayeye, an Akan word for "praise".

Fans of Mexican traditional crafts will fall in love with this unique small heart-shaped ceramic wall art featuring aluminum flowers and red glass beads details. Artisan Margarita Revilla handcrafts this wall accent with the barro negro (or "black clay") technique, a distinctive Oaxacan crafting method that dates back centuries.

This remarkable ceramic heart-shaped small wall art, embellished with aluminum flowers and glass beads, is handmade by Margarita Revilla in Mexico. With this wall accent she pays homage to the barro negro (or "black clay") technique that originated centuries ago in Oaxaca.

Originally from Yunan in China, Akha people live in Thailand's northern hills. Akha women are well known for their spectacular traditional costumes which include a headdress, a jacket worn over a halter-like garment, a short skirt, a sash with decorated ends, and leggings. Akha artisan Thikaporn is proud to present this stunning headdress, hand-crafted by her own mother, Sadaporn. She adorns the cotton headdress with myriad aluminum beads and pendants, as well as Thai coins dating from 1952 to 1965. Brightly colored beads carved of little leaf boxwood and glass, as well as feathers, complete the stunning design of this headdress.

The Akha people are a proud and timeless culture, struggling to preserve their ancestral values through their traditional skills and knowledge. Akhas believe in continuity and see themselves as a link in the chain of life, which includes birth, procreation, the preservation of the Akha way of life – which venerates family life – and death, seen as a meeting with their ancestors.

Thai artisans show all their expertise and creativity by handcrafting a traditional Lanna flag or Tung. This charming wall hanging is not only a decorative accent, as they are traditionally present in sacred ceremonies, blessing everyone with fortune. Designed by Chawika, this lovely work features a geometric pattern of blue-violet tones, embellished with wood beads and equipped with a bamboo rod.

Barro negro, or "black clay", is a distinctly Oaxacan crafting tradition that dates back centuries. Margarita Revilla from Mexico pays tribute to this ceramics technique with this stunning heart-shaped small wall art. It is complemented by aluminum flowers with blue glass beads and is the perfect piece to fill any space with Mexican traditions.

There is a goddess living in every African woman, and Ghana's Canis Dacosta Edwards portrays this spirit in this captivating wall art. The artisan works with diverse elements—from calabash gourds and glass beads to wood—to create this lovely scene of a woman daydreaming. The lady, set on a glass base, is adorned with jewelry and gorgeous garments whose orange hues represent hope.

A myriad shades of blue conjure a cool and soothing universe in this elegant nierika, or votive beadwork painting by Kupihaute. Scorpions scuttle purposefully around the center of the composition, which takes the shape of a flower with five wide petals.

The artist, who writes fluently in the Huichol, Nahuatl and English languages, talks about this work in his own words. "From the focal center of the nierika, the precious flower arises in spiral movement as the culminating expression of the deepest roots. The blossom is keeping in its entrails the seed that will disseminate the power of creative energy. This is symbolized by the scorpions that, in their wonderful body symmetry, show the essence of the power itself, since any imbalance in its mating dance, any missing the target, will cause its own poisoning and thus its own death. Therefore the symbol of cosmos, of order is shown in their mouths and the tails."

The intricate images are formed with tiny seed beads. Kupihuate patiently places them one at a time with a needle made of abalone shell onto a huanacaxtle wood backing. Beeswax is used instead of glue.

The process is totally spontaneous, with no previous sketch or design. It is guided by the artist's unconscious to tell the stories that remain in our collective ancestral memory. He signs his work with the symbol of a butterfly on the reverse side of the nierika.

Formed of three blue peyote buds, a lighted candle is radiant in this exquisite nierika, or votive beadwork painting by Kupihaute. A butterfly alights on either side in his composition, which takes the shape of a flower with five wide petals.

The artisan, who writes fluently in the Huichol, Nahuatl, Spanish and English languages, talks about this work in his own words. "The nierika is a mirror that is offered to the sea together with the first corn that has been harvested, in order to renew the cycle of rains that will give life to the next crop cycle. As in most of the ancient cultures of our planet, the candle represents our trajectory between being born and returning. For this reason, even today, during the celebration of our birthday, it is customary to light and blow out as many candles as solar cycles have elapsed. The butterflies and spirals are indicating that existence is energy in permanent transformation between arising from and returning to earth."

The intricate images are formed with tiny seed beads. Kupihuate patiently places them one at a time with a needle made of abalone shell onto a huanacaxtle wood backing. Beeswax is used instead of glue.

The process is totally spontaneous, with no previous sketch or design. It is guided by the artist's unconscious to tell the stories that remain in our collective ancestral memory. He signs his work with the symbol of a butterfly on the reverse side of the nierika.

There is a goddess living in every African woman, and Ghana's Canis Dacosta Edwards portrays this spirit in this splendid wall art. The artisan works with diverse elements—from calabash gourds and glass beads to wood—to create this tender scene of a hardworking woman. The lady, set on a glass base, is adorned with jewelry and regal garments whose orange hues represent authenticity.

There is a goddess living in every African woman, and Ghana's Canis Dacosta Edwards portrays this spirit in this charming wall art. The artisan works with diverse elements—from calabash gourds and glass beads to wood—to create this precious scene of a hardworking woman. The lady, set on a glass base, is adorned with jewelry and fabulous garments whose yellow hues represent grace.

There is a goddess living in every African woman, and Ghana's Canis Dacosta Edwards portrays this spirit in this enchanting wall art. The artisan works with diverse elements—from calabash gourds and glass beads to wood—to create this precious scene of a hardworking woman. The lady, set on a glass base, is adorned with jewelry and regal garments whose yellow and blue hues represent cleverness.