Jeanne Leffingwell

Mixed Media Beading

(Milton-Freewater)

Grades k-12, Adult

About the Artist: Jeanne is nationally known for her architectural glass bead sculptures and has pushed the boundaries of that medium. She reveres and seeks to pass along the bead-working and craft techniques she has collected and learned throughout her life. Along with making art, she is a dedicated researcher in the field of fiber and beadwork and writes for several nationally distributed craft magazines. Jeanne is currently masterminding the "Million Bead Project" in which students from Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Washington State are gaining firsthand experience and understanding of a huge number as they learn to design, create, and keep track of their progress on the way to weaving one million glass beads.

Residency Description: Her hope is to share, in this increasingly technological age, the joy, and feeling of balance to be found through making art with our human hands. She uses beads as cellular building blocks and mirror as a guiding metaphor for reflection and study. Her aim is to help students enter into an age-old dialogue with artists from every age and corner of the world given that we all share the urge to find pattern and meaning in creation.

Staff and Community Offerings: Open to meeting the needs of the site.

Facilities and Supplies: Working space for sorting and storing bead work.

Material Costs: Vary depending on the project selected.

Connections to other subjects: There are many logical connections to math, history, and art & design principles.

References: Blue Leitch, Milton-Freewater, OR: 541-938-5083, Laurie Austin (Principal) McDonald Elementary Moscow, ID: 208-882-0228