In the Michigan Studio with Backward Glances and a Giveaway

 Welcome to the first in my occasional series of interviews with Michigan artists. Today I'm pleased to be in the Michigan studio of Kelly Dorman, an incredible bead artist with a unique and historical perspective to her work.

Your name: Kelly Dorman

Your etsy shop: http://backwardglances.etsy.com

Your blog: http://mackin-art.blogspot.com

  

FK: Kelly, you live in a very special Michigan place. Tell us about it. 

I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life. Born a “Yooper” (a resident of the Upper Peninsula), I spent many years downstate. Eight years ago, I fulfilled a lifelong dream by becoming a year-round resident of Mackinac Island.

Mackinac is a small island in the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, with a long history as a “gathering place,” first with the Native people, during the early 1800’s as a center of the fur trade which was replaced by the fishing industry and finally, our current tourists/visitors. 

Visitors come to enjoy the natural beauty, the architecture, the history and the unique experience of life in a place which has forbidden the use of motor vehicles – transportation is by foot, bicycle and most importantly, horse.

In many ways, we have two phases of year, the “Season” and Winter. During the season, we have thousands of visitors each day, from all over the world. We also have many seasonal employees, again from all over the world. Everyone works so hard, it’s necessary when you have to make your living for the year in just six months. But we play hard too and by October, we’re all looking forward to the coming of winter. 

 

FK: Anyone who is a hopeless romantic will know that the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed on Mackinac Island at the Grand Hotel. The hotel is an imposing presence on the island, isn't it?

This year, winter starts on October 26^th, when the famous Grand Hotel closes. Over the next couple weeks, nearly everything, with the exception of a couple of restaurants and a few essential services, will be shut away and closed until next May. Then it’s just the year rounders, approximately 500 of us. Winters require a certain mindset, a high degree of self reliance and the ability to make do with what’s available.

Living on Mackinac is truly a unique lifestyle, one that’s a great fit for me. I have the opportunity to interact with so many diverse people, other artists, writers, poets, film makers, people from around the world and from so many economic backgrounds – in many ways it’s very cosmopolitan. And in contrast, I have miles of forest trails literally in my backyard, allowing me to interact with the natural world in complete solitude.  The creative inspiration is endless and is present in all my work.

FK: That creative inspiration is very evident in the incredible beadwork you do.  It's stunning. Do you have professional training? How did you get started?

My professional training is in the sciences, specifically the clinical laboratory, where the emphasis is on following established protocols and extreme attention to detail – creativity and innovation in the lab is not encouraged.

Living history became a creative outlet for me (more about this later); I enjoy the in-depth research, and again the extreme attention to detail, needed to recreate the lifestyle of the past. I soon reached a point where I wanted all the proper accessories to accompany my ensembles and that meant teaching myself how to make them. My adventures in beadwork started by researching and reproducing beaded bags that duplicated the techniques and materials of the original artifacts in every possible way.  I’ve continued to explore various techniques of the past, sometimes using them as they were originally intended to be used and other times in completely new ways.

An Original Design and Technique Edwardian Style Beaded Bag - Caught in the Ne

FK: How long have you had your Etsy shop?  What was your inspiration?

I discovered Etsy a couple years ago and created my shop, Backward Glances, soon after. I chose the name Backward Glances as a reference to the beadwork of the past – all my work reflects a need to combine traditional form and function with my own color and design sensibilities, to reinterpret classic needlework styles in a modern and innovative manner.

 Bead Woven Sparkle Bracelet - A Touch of Smoke - Original Design

 Beadwoven, Victorian Style Choker Necklace - A Touch of Smoke - Original Design

 FK: Tell me about your creative life. What do you love doing the most? How do you get inspired to do what you do?

 I try to live my entire life in a creative way and over the years I’ve found that basically everything in my life shows up in my work eventually. Books I read, patterns or colors I see in my daily rounds, conversations, historic fashion, nature especially, end up included in various ways. It’s seldom a conscious intent and I often only recognize the inspiration after the fact. A good example is “Shell Game;" I thought I was just making a turtle bag, but in reality the colors I chose to use all came from the colors of my walk to work in the winter – the colors of a cedar forest in the snow. 

I have a workroom, but it is primarily my place to both store and strew my supplies. Whenever I start a new project, I need to pull out absolutely everything that even might work and then I need to just push it around and look at it for awhile. Then I pull out the bits that don’t work and add some more and look some more, repeat – it’s a messy process.

I work everywhere; beads are relatively portable. I suspect someday in the distant future, an archeologist will be very puzzled – why does an apparent home site have industrial numbers of beads on site? 

Butterfly Trembler Hairpin, Beaded Butterfly Hair Ornament

FK: I can relate to that - I do the same thing, pull everything out until I have created quite a mess! What part of being an artist is the most gratifying to you, and what part of being an artist is hardest for you, or that you dislike the most?

All my pieces are intended to evoke a place, a time, an atmosphere and I know I have succeeded as an artist when a piece causes an immediate emotional response in a viewer.

Like so many artists, I find salesmanship and self promotion very difficult; I put so much of myself in each piece that I often find myself without the energy to take that next step.

I work in a medium that is often not acknowledged as “ART”, I cringe when someone says, “Oh, this is Kelly – she’s really crafty.”  I know beads are not always art, but I’ve worked so hard to push the limits and boundaries of my materials and techniques. It took me many years before I was willing to give myself the title of “artist”, but I believe I’ve earned it.

 

Fire Mandala Peyote Beaded Pendant

FK: Kelly, not to worry - your work is definitely art! What do you do when you’re not being an artist? 

I’m not sure an artist is ever not being an artist! 

I’m a serious reader, both fiction and nonfiction, especially anything with a historical influence – which leads to another love of mine, living history. Both my husband and I have been involved in Civil War living history for nearly fifteen years, portraying civilians living during the 1860s. Our relative isolation on the Island makes it difficult to attend many events, most of which are in the summer, but we have become very serious about research and have given many presentations during the off season. This article appeared in our local paper about our living history:

 Civil War Period is Focus for Island Couple.


Another good example of all my interests being interrelated: I first studied herbariums  as part of a presentation on antebellum botany.  Herbarium, in botany, is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts, usually in a dried form, mounted on a sheet. 

This past winter I created my version of a beaded herbarium, “Cycling”, which was accepted into the inaugural contemporary exhibit at our new museum on Mackinac, the Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum www.mackinacparks.com/mackinac-art-museum.

 

One of my favorite forms of year-round entertainment is walking the many trails on the Island and taking photos of all the many natural beauties to be found in the woods. These are the natural wonders of the Mackinac that most visitors are oblivious to - tourists tend to focus on our big, obvious attractions. I have literally 1000's of images, taken in all seasons and all places, the complete seasonal cycle.

I wanted to have my beaded pieces rotate or cycle, and what better way than on a discarded bicycle wheel? After all, most of us on the island cycle everywhere, to work, to play and home again. The cedar base was a fortunate find, it had been blown down in a wind storm, destined to be broken down and cycled back into the earth.

Here's two closeups with their inspiration photos. 

  FK: I think your "cycling" piece is truly an ambitious and outstanding piece of art!  I want to thank you for allowing me to visit with you. This has truly been an education, not only about beading but about one of our Michigan jewels: Mackinac Island. (Note: If you would like to learn more about Mackinac Island, go here.)

I'm encouraging everyone to sign up to follow your blog. Your are not only an outstanding beader but an accomplished photographer as well.  Your blog is a visual delight!

What special giveaway are you offering?

I'm offering a $40.00 Gift Certificate for use in my etsy shop, Backward Glances. 

FK: That's wonderful! Now let me tell everyone how they can win. 


You will have several chances to be entered into the random drawing. Each one must be entered as a separate comment.  


First entry: Visit Kelly's shop or blog, come back here, and enter a comment about your favorite piece(s). 


Second entry: Enter a comment if you have signed up to follow Kelly's blog (or comment if you already follow).


Third entry: Enter a comment that you signed up to follow my blog (or comment that you already follow).


Fourth entry: Enter a comment that you signed up as a fan on my Facebook page (or comment that you are already a fan).


That's four chances to enter for the random drawing!  I will use random generator to pick a winner after 12 noon EDT on

Wednesday, November 3.