Carol Perrenoud

...the Art of the Natural

Carol Perrenoud is justifiably famous for her representations of the natural world, generally represented in beads so small that most people cannot even see the holes, much less work with them.

"...Carol is known primarily as a peyote stitch artist. In fact, she was one of the first people to teach peyote-stitch amulet bags, which she calls treasure pouch necklaces, and most of the leading practitioners of this art learned from her or from one of her students."

"... Carol is deeply influenced by late Victorian style. 'Virginia and I both made ourselves Victorian dresses with all the proper accouterments. And we wear them out to dinner regularly. The Victorians put beads on anything that wouldn't walk out of the room,' which pretty accurately describes Carol's obsession. But she's down to earth too: 'I always put a lot of fringe on my pieces. After all, there's nothing worse than stringy, oily bangs - or thin fringe.'"

"A lot of Carol's beadwork features animals. Molly honors her pet bunny, and Chantecler of Cockaigne commemorates her favorite Araucana rooster. Animals have always been a part of Carol's life. She also worked as an animal behavior teaching assistant to pay for her zoology degree. That meant keeping all the animals at her apartment. - which didn't allow pets. These included 50 baby ducks, hundreds of crickets, a colony of mice to feed the snakes, a beehive, and a pet parakeet. Today, her office is located on a farm."

Carol Perrenoud, The seeds of wit and whimsy by Alice Korach
BEAD & BUTTON, June 1996

"...among Carol's unique creations are a tightly netted Sea Urchin Basket with a base of size 14° seed beads and spines of tiny size 20s and 22s, including antique bugle beads. ... And, her Micro Habitat necklace of size 16° to 22° seed beads, antique bugles and pressed-glass beads features a twisted fringe, freestyle beadweaving and 5-inch bugle helix-stitch pendant. Purchased by a collector at an exhibition opening for $7,500, it features an understructure of beads that supports the weight of the entire piece."

A Couple of BEADCATS by Kari Stone
Jewelry Crafts, July/August 1997


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