ABOUT THE ARTIST

Biography:
Laura McCabe is a primarily self-taught beadweaver with an education in historical costume reproduction and restoration, and anthropology. She produces elaborately beaded body adornment and sculpture that combines Native American, African, and Victorian beadweaving techniques with modern materials and color schemes.

She started Just Let Me Bead in 1995, at which time she sold her original designs to boutiques and museum shops. In 2002, she began teaching her art and has continue to do so across the US and throughout the world. She exhibits her work in national and international beadwork exhibitions, and continues to sell some of her finished work here on line.

She maintains a private studio in Hampton, Connecticut where she and a dog named Lucy continue to live the creative life.

Education:
September 1993 - March 1997; University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut (historical costume restoration)

January, 2002 - 2003; University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut (anthropology and archaeology)

Selected Exhibitions, Honors & Awards:
-June 2013; Bead Dreams 2013, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (second place, objects and accessories)

-June, 2013; awarded the Excellency in Bead Artistry Award at the Bead & Button Show

-January, 2013 Saul Bell Design Award, second place in beads

-July - August 2012; The Art of Beads II, The Mill Gallery, Guilford Handcraft Center, Guilford, CT (juror)

-June, 2010; Master Class Teacher at The Bead & Button Show, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

-April, 2010; Top Ten Teacher Award, Bead & Button Show

-April, 2008; Smithsonian Craft Show Exhibitor, Washington D.C.

-June 2006; Bead Dreams 2006, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (first place, seed bead work)

-May 2006; Bead International (touring exhibition), the Dairy Barn, Athens, OH

-June, 2005; Bead Dreams 2005, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (first place, finished jewelry (collaboration with Lisa Niven Kelly), third place, seed beads)

-June, 2004; Bead Dreams 2005, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (third place, seed beads)

-September, 2003; Brave Destiny (surrealist art exhibition), Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY

-September, 2003; DeCordova Style, DeCordova Scupture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA

-June 2003; Bead Dreams 2003, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (best of show; first place, seed beads)

-April 2003; Gleaming Treasures, Embellishment 2003, Chicago, IL (third place, seed bead work; third place, finished jewelry; judges choice)

-June 2002; Bead Dreams 2002, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (finalist, seed bead work)

-May 2002 - June 2004; Bead International (touring exhibition), the Dairy Barn, Athens, OH

-July 2001; Gleaming Treasures, Embellishment 2001, Portland, OR (best of show; first place, finished jewelry)

-May 2001; Bead Dreams 2001, The Bead and Button Show, Milwaukee, WI (finalist, seed bead work)

-May - June 2001; The Art of Beads, The Mill Gallery, Guilford Handcraft Center, Guilford, CT (first place, jewelry)

-July 2000; Gleaming Treasures, Embellishment 2000, Portland, OR (second place, finished jewelry; judges choice)

-June 2000; Bead Dreams 2000, The Bead and Button Show, Portland, OR (first place, finished jewelry)

-July 1998; Gleaming Treasures, Embellishment 1998, Sacramento, CA (finalist, seed bead work)

Teaching Experience:
-Extensive workshops across the United States in: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

-Extensive workshops internationally including: Australia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, Tasmania, and Wales.