Africa

There was a book called Africa Adorned by Angela Fisher that came out in 1984 that really altered my aesthetics for jewelry. It was revolutionary for me really. I began to see the beauty in native people's traditional jewelry. This heap above reminds me of some of the beautiful stuff in Fisher's book and the beautiful people who wear and make these things. Above is real amber, about a hundred red wooden beads and a carved bone fish. About this same time, in Hawaii, I discovered the tiniest shop with African imports. It was out in the industrial part of the island, and I don't know how anyone could have found it unless they were going, like me, to a clothing factory nearby to buy wholesale skirts and T shirts. But my sisters and I began to make regular visits and that's where I got the amber and carved fish tucked under looming masks, spears, and tall, skinny beaded dolls. The wooden beads were in a thrift shop if you can believe it. The amber with the red beads is also a very Tibetan combination so I love this set for several reasons. In the eighties I had a very amber yellow T with a matching knit yellow skirt (from the clothing outlet) that I wore with this entire set a lot.