Joyce J. Scott is an internationally acclaimed African American artist from Baltimore, who has worked with embroidery, ceramics, printmaking and more, but is best known for her excellent beadwork. Scott is able to weave, or string, together extremely intricate pieces out of beads that cover a variety of topics, such as racial violence and women’s rights issues. She does not shy away from imagery that is provocative, uncomfortable, and even humorous, all at the same time. Scott has won numerous awards for her work, including the Smithsonian Visionary Award (2019) and Gold Medalist from the American Craft Council (2020).
Anyone who has had the opportunity to see Scott’s beadwork will understand why I’m so drawn to it. Her craftsmanship is on a different level of expertise, and combined with the various materials she includes into her pieces, it truly makes for serious eye-candy. The various subject matter keeps me intrigued as well, mostly because I usually find it hard to understand what I’m looking at when it comes to her pieces. That period of ambiguity and uncertainty allows me to ponder the meanings of her work and after I learn more about the piece, I still find those moments beforehand to hold the most connection between me, the work, and the artist.
