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Museum of Beads |
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Written by Dara Spiotto
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Monday, 21 May 2007 |
 My husband and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in the second week of May. He’s been secretive for a couple of months about what he had planned and as it crept closer I got more and more curious. In preparation I bought a new dress and made some gorgeous earrings to go with it, and then bided my time in anticipation.
 The 11th rolled in like any other day… I shower, feed the baby, load the dishwasher, etc. Then I got as dolled up as quickly as possible and we were off! I was so excited because my husband is great at planning surprises for me like this! First stop, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, also known as the Getty Villa. Look for yourself at http://www.getty.edu/visit/. This amazing place is an educational center and museum dedicated to the study and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria, and is chuck full of artifacts, sculpture, vessels, silver and mosaics. And beads. Gobs of them. In fact, I found beads in places where the average Joe wouldn’t think to look. And in many of the artifacts I saw how these works of art could be so easily interpreted into beads. The mosaics, for instance, are made from teensy pieces of hand cut stones, and they look so similar to loomed seed beads, or Huichol inlaid beads. And believe me, the tiny pieces of stone they used in these mosaics are almost the size of seed beads! And the colors are just enchanting. Amazingly in tact, these mosaics were enormous and so detailed. I wanted to run my hands over them and feel the texture. Jim said if I did that then I’d have to walk home. He knows about my history of setting off alarms in museums. Stupid alarms.
 The sculpture carved from marble or cast in bronze blew me away. I’m an art major and had studied so many of these Greek, Roman and Etruscan pieces. I have to admit it was weird turning a corner only to be confronted by a 7’ tall Etruscan male, carved from marble in 330BC that I had studied in depth back in my college years. But this time I saw the sculpture a little differently. Check out the carvings of the hair on these gods and goddesses. Am I crazy? Do you see beads here?
How about the jewelry itself? Knock me over with a feather, Mr. Getty. Real gold, pearls, stones, and ivory formed into beads that made my goose-bumps stand at attention. Honestly, I’m sorry that my pictures of the lampwork cane faces on beads didn’t come out because the details were astonishing. There was Aphrodite and Athena depicted in glass, Neptune and Bacchus in carved ivory, in rows and rows of beads. And they tell stories, too. Each bead is part of the tale,  with the big crescendo  as the centerpiece, and then the tale is finished as it continues to wind around the neck of the wearer. I was fascinated by the clasps and designs of each piece. I wanted to handle them, try them on, but you know… I figured it would be a small amount of time to enjoy it and then a long jail visit, and on our anniversary I’m sure my husband would rather I didn’t indulge in that fantasy. So I kept my hands in my pockets. But my eyes were manhandling them big time.
Just the marble floors in the museum alone were enough to get my motor revving. They were pieced together like a quilt, with intricate, tiny little carved stone shapes. I saw beads there, also, in patterns that I wanted to re-create into amulets or wide peyote bracelets. I think that going to any museum to see any collection of art or artifacts would get your bead radar buzzing. This was an amazing visit.
  The rest of the day was just as wonderful, with a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, to look at the surfers, the huge homes, and a quick visit to feast our eyes on the gorgeous campus of Pepperdine University where deer were grazing lazily along the sprawling lawns. Back down the coast to The Chart House for an amazing dinner at a table over the sea where we could watch the waves splash the rocks, and waders, dogs and birds lingered below in the surf. We got to watch the sun go down, and then we zoomed off to the Santa Monica pier and rode the ferris wheel. Actually, I clung for my life because it looks as though you’re going to just plunk down into the cold ocean. I never have gotten rid of my fear of falling so ferris wheels scare the bejeebers out of me. I told my hubby I’d be brave, but most of the time I couldn’t look beyond my closed eyelids with my face buried into my sweater. :-) Then we went to the 3rd Street Promenade and wandered the streets full of shops, outdoor musicians and lighted trees. A stop at Johnny Rockets for a hot fudge sunday and then we were ready to head home. A perfect end to a perfect day.
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