from different cultures. That is so exiting and
stimulating. It forces you to rethink your opinions and your view of the world.”
“Nepal still is a magical place for me and using
mala beads in my work brings back happy memories.”
When I asked if there was any one place that
stood out to her in her travels, she replied “Can
I only choose one place? If so, then it has to be
Nepal, for a variety of reasons. Our idea of traveling started there. We were on our honeymoon
in Nepal, walking the Annapurna trail (yup, not
your ordinary honeymoon destination) when
we saw a truck parked in a place with German
license plates. Before that, it never crossed our
minds that it is possible to just simply drive
to Nepal. So we promised ourselves that one
day we would try that. And we did. We spend
approximately 5 months in Nepal. The atmosphere is wonderful. I loved the temples, the
people, meeting with other travelers, browsing
the markets and seeing the Nepali and Tibetan
jewelry, clothes etc. I developed my love for
beads, colors, fabric and ethnic styles there.
Nepal still is a magical place for me and using
mala beads in my work brings back happy memories.”
Janine has a whole collection of inspirational
places, cultures and styles that influence her
work. Some of her favorites that she draws from
she says, “I love the embroidered clothes as well
as the wall hangings I saw in Pakistan, India and
Nepal. In Dubai I came across the book The Art
of Bead Embroidery by Heidi Kummli and Sherry
Serafini. And I fell in love. Whenever my mind is
too chaotic or if I have a designer block, I turn
back to bead embroidery.”
But that chaotic mind, as she calls it also feeds
her creativity. “My creative mind works very
chaotically, influenced by all we have seen and
experienced during our travels; the colors, the
textures, the clothes and jewelry people wear.
Different ideas are ping-ponging through my
head all day. And I would like to do all at the
same time, which obviously is impossible. I think
that is why I create various styles and use a great
variety of materials. But recently I am increasingly starting to make less obvious combinations,
especially using ethnic, tribal beads. I like combining mala beads from Nepal with trade beads
from Africa with art beads and pe \