Style Imitating Art: “Floral Journey with a Twist” and Other Cherokee Beadwork by Martha Berry

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Terri of Meadow Tree Style, and Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

The inspiration artwork was curated by me and inspired by my recent visit to Cherokee, North Carolina. You can read why I chose this work here.

The Artwork

Kamama (Butterfly) (Traditional Cherokee Ladies Purse) and Floral Journey with a Twist (Beaded Bandolier Bag) 

by Martha Berry

About the Artist: Martha Berry

Martha Berry is a Cherokee beadwork artist who was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Cherokee/English/Scotch-Irish parents.

At age 5, Berry’s mother and grandmother taught her how to sew and embroider. By 9 years old, she was making her own clothing. And at 20 years of age, she became a professional seamstress. Wanting to expand her skills, Berry began creating elaborate beadwork art. Using photographs of artifacts, she taught herself the lost art of Cherokee beadwork which eventually led to her receiving a grant to study the Southeastern beadwork collection located in Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution. Because of her studies and her beadwork, Berry has been credited with reviving the art of traditional Cherokee and Southeastern beadwork, particularly from the post-Contact and pre-Removal periods.

She admits to taking her Cherokee heritage for granted for many years until she really began embracing the importance of her ancestors’ experience when she was in her 40s. Berry creates beaded bandolier bags, moccasins, belts, knee bands, purses, and sashes and she is credited with the discovery of a unique stitch used only on Southeastern sashes. She has been awarded many accolades and was designated a Cherokee National Treasure in 2013.

She currently resides in Rowlett, Texas, with her husband and divides her time between research and creating beadwork that is inspired by the styles of the Southeastern Woodlands Native Americans. Her daughters, Christina (a beadwork artist) and Karen (a finger-weaving and gourd artist), are following their mother’s artistic path.

About the Art: Traditional Cherokee Beadwork

Martha Berry’s beadwork is done primarily in the style of the Southeastern Woodlands which is “characterized by curvilinear designs and the strategic use of negative space”. Deer hide or other heavy cloths are used for beaded moccasins while sashes, belts, bandolier bags, jackets, purses, leggings, and garters are usually constructed from blue or red wool stroud backed by calico. The predominant color for the beads is white with imported glass beads replacing pre-Contact pearl and shell beads. Many Southeastern Woodlands designs use a simple color combination of red, blue, black, and white while other beadwork designs may incorporate a vast array of additional colors including pinks, greens, golds, and pastels. Whatever color palette is used, the colors are always arranged for maximum visual impact. Bead designs in this tradition are usually abstract, floral, or zoomorphic with very few instances of anthropomorphic designs appearing.

The two pieces I chose for this challenge, the Kamama (Butterfly) (Traditional Cherokee Ladies Purse) and the Floral Journey with a Twist (Beaded Bandolier Bag), both use the traditional color palette of red, black, blue, and white with bright yellow, pastel pink, and earthy green added to create an even more powerful visual impact. Between the two beaded pieces, we get to see examples of floral and abstract designs done in this tradition as well as the lovely butterfly.

The butterfly purse consists of glass seed beads on wool and cotton backing and measures 6 1/2″ H x 6″ W by 1/2” D and also includes a strap which is not pictured.

The bandolier bag measures 36″ H x 16″ W x 2” D and uses glass seed beads on wool broadcloth, linen, and silk with wool yarn. To the extent possible, all materials that were used for this piece are authentic to the early 19th century. The bag was created in 2014 and took the artist 303 hours to complete.

According to the artist herself, the designs on the bag “represent places where my daughter’s ancestors lived. The plants are thistle (Scotland), shamrocks (Ireland), bluebonnets (Texas), Rosa Oklahoma (Oklahoma), and sunflower (Kansas). The triangular flap, centerpiece of the bag, is adorned by a wild, vivid pink rose that grows on Twist Mountain in the heart of the Cherokee Nation. All of the floral images are only partially beaded because, although all of the places represented are a part of us, none of them is all of us.” (Source)

Floral Journey with a Twist was acquired by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and is currently on display in the WINIKO: Life of an Object exhibit at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

Resources/References:

• Martha Berry: Cherokee Bead Artist
• Martha Berry: Wikipedia
• All Things Cherokee: Martha Berry
• Stitches in Time: The Rebirth of Southeastern Woodlands Beadwork
• First Americans Museum

About My Outfit

I chose these two pieces because I was really drawn to the powerful color palettes on both. Red, black, and white has always been one of my favorite color combinations but I like that the artist added in so many other bright, bold, and soft colors for even more sartorial inspiration.

When I chose this art, however, I had no idea what I would style to represent it. Since I don’t own very many beaded things, I initially had in mind to focus on a color blocked outfit in red and black and then add some details with creative accessorizing. As I was poking around my closet room looking for all the bold red things, I spotted this super old wrap skirt lying in a small pile on the floor. I had recently discovered it in a misplaced bin of unwanted clothing and decided that maybe I still wanted it. And now I am really, really glad that I kept it because I freaking love it!

Anyway, I looked down and realized that while the colors are a bit more muted than the artwork, all the colors were there in various abstract and floral designs. How appropriate! Naturally, I paired it with black since that is the dominant color in the bandolier bag. To represent the beadwork, I added a short beaded choker necklace and a black beaded shawl. For the tassels, I wore a beaded tassel necklace. And to pay homage to the butterfly, I added a turquoise butterfly lariat necklace. My new painted feather earrings are a souvenir I bought for myself at Snake Song in Sylva, North Carolina, and they were perfect with this outfit along with my gorgeous painted hat and thrifted cowgirl boots. I added my favorite preloved ruana as my outerwear because we still have a whole lot of winter to go where I live.

Honestly, once I had assembled my base outfit of skirt, turtleneck, and sleeveless cardigan, the rest of it all just sort of came together like magic. While it may not be as spot on as some of my other Style Imitating Art interpretations, it is an outfit that I absolutely adore and that is the whole point of these little challenges anyway…to find new and creative ways of looking at our wardrobes. Why don’t you go ahead and give it a try. It’s a lot of fun!

Now it’s your turn! Did you style something inspired by this beautiful Cherokee beadwork? Be sure to check out Salazar’s interpretation of the painting as well as Terri’s take on it. If you want to join us and be featured in my gallery post on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, please send me your photos by Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 10:00 p.m. EST and then check back for the group gallery of art inspired looks.

Happy styling!

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Top-Torrid / Tights-Sheertex / Boots and Ruana (Zara)-Thrifted / Gloves-Amazon / Hat-Gift from a friend / Earrings-Snake Song / Skirt-Middle Eastern Gifts / Sleeveless Cardigan, Shawl, and Necklaces-So old I don’t remember from whence they originated