Beads that Speak

A language for making sense

For Nan Heldenbrand Morrisette, art is as much process as it is “output”. Her process produces art, but even more than that, it is a trail map to questions and a struggle to find clarity. It invites all of us few “viewers” to join her in an appropriate and well-paced reflection of the monotonies of the internal heart work in which we all should be engaging. But, somehow, she invites us also to something akin to that deep exhalation of contentment you get when you reach the stunning summit of a long journey. 

Open hands, an open and curious mind, and an open heart are the way to engage her work. 

A note from Nan:

One recent morning, my husband and I sat in our study - me in the big chair by the window, Tom, at his worktable reading an article. It was about a gentleman trying to deal with deciding what to do with all the paintings his father had left behind upon his death. And there were many. The family needed a means for people anywhere to view the paintings and read about the  artist. After finishing the article, Tom looked at me and said, “We have to begin working on a way to share your legacy with the family and the world.”

     So we hired a good friend and his agency, pivotol.com to do just that. We asked Ben to create a web site that would, initially, describe me and my journey as an artist. It would be done through several interviews and by working with their web designer and photographer. As a beginning step to presenting my beadwork, we selected five of the larger works and a five-piece installation:    

  •      One Suitcase: An Installation About the Global Refugee Crisis

    Dropped on a Beach

    Strands and Symbols

    Trafficking

    Liberty

    A Suitcase

  •      A Shawl of Advice

  •      I Am I - from 71 to 74

  •      The Story Boas:

              Beauty Boa

              Paris to Barcelona

              Ornithology

Now that the foundation of this website has been laid, I will be adding photos and descriptions of many more examples of my creativity. My goal is to share a significant amount of my designs in order to represent the entire body of my work. This will take some time, as I continue to work in my riverside studio on more pieces.
I hope you will return from time to time to see what has been added here. There will be knitwear, embroidery, needlepoint on canvas and on silk gauze (at least 1,024 stitches per square inch.) Of course, all are my own original designs. Beadwork is my current passion. Over the past years I have concentrated on presenting the written word through bead weaving. Hence the name, “Beads that Speak.”
I want to thank Ben, Emily, Danny and the entire pivotol.com team for their listening, writing, photography and writing skills. I’m also very grateful for the help of my granddaughter, Sophie Kastelic.
NOTE: Much of the writing on this website is the result of the Pivotol team’s interviews with me and from time spent with me in my studio. Their words are on the peach-colored and the dark gray backgrounds. My own notes and information are on this turquoise background.

Thanks for visiting. Please come back soon. I will be adding lots more of my work.
Nan Morrissette      

How to “Hear” Them Speak

Lifting the edge of one panel, feel the tremendous weight of the piece “I Am I” in your hands. So many tiny “nothings” have turned into a very palpable and heavy “something”. It is a literal allegory for the inner work of the mind and the heart. And that is why Nan’s beads speak. But for us, much like her own speaking voice, the allegory is soft and subtle. We have to slow down and listen.

The best things in this world speak softly, slowly and quietly, like breezes or trees, or rivers or tall grasses. Listen.

Why does the artist bead?