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Cindy Bowers - Dryad
Category: Sculpture.
Stitches used include: Peyote stitch, Ndebele stitch, and branch fringe.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Interior Design from Northern Arizona University. Even though I have worked in the design industry for twenty years, I have always looked outside my career to satisfy my creative spirit. Office space planning is more technical than creative. My obsession with beads started about five years ago with one visit to a local bead store. At Beads & Beyond (Bellevue, Washington) I have attended numerous classes and Eastside Bead Group meetings. Last year, I had the privilege of attending NanC Meinhardt's Masters Class. I would highly recommend this class to anyone looking for their 'creative voice'.
My Dryad consists mainly of peyote stitch, with ndebele wings and skirt. I used branched fringe for her hair. The face is Fimo. I used a small wooden manikin for the body; an idea borrowed from Tracy Stanley of Kirkland, Washington. I have always admired Tracy's creations using the larger manikins. I originally wanted the Dryad to appear to be emerging out of a tree (made of beads). When I realized I didn't have enough time left to make a tree, I revised my idea. I decided to use a real branch as the tree and show her stepping out from behind the tree, as if enticing the viewer with a crystal.
In Greek mythology, nymphs are spirits that inhabit natural features. Dryads are the nymphs of trees and forests. Each Dryad has her own tree to protect, and she will die if the tree dies. Because a Dryad's life is linked to her tree, the Greeks believed that the gods punished anyone who destroyed a tree.