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The
Work of Huib Petersen
Born and educated: Doorn, The Netherlands
Residence and studio: San Francisco, California
“I always try to do that what I cannot do in
order to learn how to do it.”
– Pablo Picasso
Needlecrafts first caught my attention when I was a child
growing up in small town in Holland. Encouraged by my mom,
grandma and the local needlecraft store owner, I picked up
crochet, knitting, tatting, macramé, bobbin lace,
needle lace and embroidery with ease.
In high school, I discovered the theater and loved every
aspect of it. I strengthened my existing skills and learned
new ones: acting, directing, puppetry, costume design, stage
design, backdrop painting, singing and writing.
In 1995 I moved from Holland to San Francisco, and I opened
a small arts and crafts workshop and gallery on Nob Hill.
Inspired by a chance encounter with 19th century Russian
beadwork, I discovered the beauty and challenges of designing
with beads.
I use different sizes of beads as a building material – like
little bricks – and a variety of traditional stitches
as a flexible, tensile sort of mortar. Placing beads one
by one, row by row on top of each other, I combine my needlework,
theater and jewelry skills to create sculpted bugs, butterflies,
birds, and sea creatures in their environments. The result
is a unique kind of wearable art that offers the intricacy
of embroidery and lace, the depth of a theater set and the
durability and brilliance of glass.
I have been doing beadwork full time for the last seven
years, and all of my pieces are unique.
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