Safari Journal

The lion sleeps tonight...

The lion sleeps tonight...

In the jungle, the mighty jungle. The lion sleeps tonight….as does the leopard and cheetah at this years’ Design Indaba.

These life-size animal trophy heads are all handcrafted from bead and wire. I have seen pictures of similar pieces over the years, but have never had the opportunity to examine one of these art pieces up close and admire the sheer brilliance and workmanship.

Bead and Wire art pieces like these are typically made on commission and end up in collectors homes, corporate headquarters and galleries the world over, so not a piece you would normally see in a store.

Not being a beader I thought the artist would create the piece by placing one bead at a time onto lengths of wire. However I discovered they actually take the wire and scoop it through a tub of beads and still manage to create an animal pelt complete with various colour tones and markings, just like a real predator.

Wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh…

Safari Journal / Blog by Safari Fusion | The lion sleeps tonight | Admiring the talent of South Africa's leading bead artists | Bead Leopard

afari Journal / Blog by Safari Fusion | The lion sleeps tonight | Admiring the talent of South Africa's leading bead artists | Bead Cheetah

afari Journal / Blog by Safari Fusion | The lion sleeps tonight | Admiring the talent of South Africa's leading bead artists | Bead Lion, Leopard and Cheetah[Images: 1,4 Safari Fusion, 2-3 Netshomi Zam]

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