First Fridays
Join us for Portland's First Friday Art Walk for an evening gathering of beaded art, fun, and conversation.
The Museum of Beadwork presents a series of in-person events on the first Friday of every month. These events will be a mix of lectures, workshops, and presentations as well as time to view exhibits and talk with staff, presenters, and other attendees. These events run from 5pm to 8pm unless otherwise stated below.
What is a First Friday Art Walk?
A monthly arts and cultural event that takes place on the first Friday of every month throughout many cities in the US and internationally. Generally these events are promoted by a local entity; we have Creative Portland to thank for the promotion and organization of Portland, Maine's art walk every month. Follow the link to check out this wonderful arts based organization.
Want to sponsor a First Friday to help us keep them free?
Please contact us directly for information about this sponsorship program. A great opportunity for businesses, art enthusiasts, and groups of all kind to support community and creativity!
Join us for the opening of Maracole Bijoux's new exhibition here at the Museum of Beadwork! Food, wine, conversation, artwork, and as always, free parking!
Born and raised in Italy, Maracole graduated in Rome with a specialization in Drawing Animation and game design from IED. She worked in the animation industry until 2008, when she took a chance on relocating to Los Angeles, CA. She started making visual art and exhibiting her work in local galleries, specializing in Pop Surrealism. Mara experimented with many mediums over a decade, and since 2019 Maracole Bijoux – a line of high end handwoven jewelry– is her main endeavor.
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Mara is also teaching a Master class on June 7th of beaded ropes (Tubular Peyote, Chenille Stitch, and CRAW). For more details and to register click here!
No event. If you are a current member, we will be having a Member's Party towards the middle of the month. Keep a look out for your invitation! If you are not a member, you can become one here!
Holiday Bash
January 5th
Enter The Stars!
This community project from 2022 combines the over 250 beaded stars we received from participants all over the country as well as internationally. This Exhibit will be on display throughout 2024.
This First Friday event is the opening of the exhibition of this program: Starting From Here. Our first two artists are Jocelyn Garcia and Susanne Verallo.
As always, First Friday events are free, but donations are always welcome.
Rebecca Ann Combs is the author of three best-selling kumihimo books, Kumihimo Basics & Beyond, Kumihimo Braiding with Beads, and Kumihimo Jewelry Simplified. Rebecca’s designs explore the intersection of color, math, and engineering and for the past sixteen years she has been pushing the bounds of what is possible in beaded kumihimo.
The evening will have food, fun, and the first look at her brand new exhibition!
Join us for a night of beading, community, an open gallery, and more!
Grandifolia was our 2nd Community Project taking place in 2023. We are now mounting this exhibit in our gallery and giving you one last chance to make a beaded leaf and be part of the installation!
We will have a few different patterns depending on skill level, all materials needed (but feel free to bring your own), and staff on hand to help you along. By the end of the event you will have a leaf to add to our community exhibition.
As always, First Friday events are free, but donations are always welcome.
Celebrate the opening of our 2nd annual beadwork challenge, A Novel Tea, with a tea party complete with a little madness. From 5-8pm come have a spot of tea, vote for your favorite entry in the exhibition, and wear your best hat for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the museum. (Also, free parking!)
The MOB challenge is a competition open to bead artists around the world with a different theme every year. This year’s theme is “A Novel Tea: a spot of beads and whimsy”. There are eight different awards decided by judges as well as a coveted People’s Choice award that is decided by museum attendees starting at this event!
At every First Friday we have a raffle for a museum SWAG bag, and this time we will also have a pair of tickets to the museum for the guest with the best hat!
So come, join the tea party, wear your best hat, and decide which piece in this new exhibit is the “Queen of Hearts”.
Throughout her thirty-year career, Laura McCabe has developed a style of woven beadwork that celebrates form and function. The work is extremely intricate and labor intensive. She also makes use of materials such as semiprecious stones, shells, insects, computer parts, hardware components, and even glass eyeballs.
"Eyes are a recurring theme in much of my work, drawing upon traditions dating back more than 6,000 years. While perhaps initially unsettling, eyes have long been considered icons of good luck and protection. The use of glass doll's eyes and antique human prosthetics add a sense of life to my work.”
In anticipation of our Guest Artist later this month, we thought we'd share a taste of bead embroidery to anyone who'd like to give it a try. Materials will be provided! Artists Holly Bean will be teaching 2 classes on the 28th and 29th, so come along to our First Friday event on the 6th and see if this is a technique you are interested in learning more about.
As always, free gallery admission (though donations are greatly appreciated), light snacks, snappy conversation, and free parking!!
We will have cider, and Ugly Sweater contest, and our usual snacks, raffle, and of course, beadwork!
If you'd like to be part of the Ugly Sweater Competition, just show up in your favorite ugly sweater- holiday themed or otherwise! Judging will happen at 7 for a chance to win a Swag Bag and Enamel Pin Set.
Please come and celebrate the holiday season with us and bring a friend. And as always, free parking!
Are you interested in new art or beadwork techniques but you’re not quite ready to invest in all the tools and supplies? Looking for a quick starter session just to see if it will grab your interest? At this event we will have several stations with various types of beadwork for you to try out with a partner. You can bring a friend, a date, or get paired up with a new pal who’s also there to dip their toe into beadwork.
This is a hands-on, fast paced event to give you a little taste of various beadwork styles. It’s a great date night for partners, new couples, friends, or anyone looking for one of those with a shared interest. Who knows what could happen?! Snacks, wine, education, world class artwork, artists, and as always, free parking. That’s a pretty great combination for a date night!
This is a free event with a suggested donation. We do ask you register just so we can make sure we have enough teachers on hand.
Send us an email or register here.
See you February 7th at 5pm!
Not only have we spruced the place up, we have added five more cases and a new wall space to our gallery! Come along from 5 to 8 pm and see not one, but two new Guest Artists, Nick Heller and Sabrina Frey. We're also showing off some clothing, vintage handbags, and many of the masks from last year's Gala, so if you missed that event, come see these spectacular pieces now!
As always, free gallery admission (though donations are greatly appreciated), light snacks, snappy conversation, and free parking!!