BerryBeadWork.com creates traditional Cherokee style bead work decorations
Title
Martha Berry: Cherokee Beadwork Artist
Description
At the age of five, Martha Berry's mother and grandmother began teaching her to use a needle and thread. By age nine, she was making her own clothes, and at twenty, she was a seamstress for a touring ice show.
Born and raised in northeastern Oklahoma, to Cherokee/English/Scotch-Irish parents, she took her Cherokee heritage largely for granted for many years. In her forties, with her children nearly grown, she began to discover the richness and importance of her ancestors' experience, and turned her skill with a needle to beadwork.
She now divides her time between research and creating beadwork that is inspired by the styles of the Southeastern Woodland Native American Indians. These native Nations include the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Yuchi, Alabama, etc. Her beadwork often illustrates the stories and lore of her Cherokee ancestors, allowing the observer to experience the power of their knowledge and the richness of their experience.
