Array of Arrays

Ongoing research and practice of off-loom bead weaving by Shelby Wilson

While most methods of weaving are sequential or linear, right-angle bead weaving allows for non-linearity; a piece is not necessarily woven from one side to the other. The thread takes a path known only to the weaver.

A matrix of glass and jasper stone beads, Inclusions forms a record of time.

As I wove this fabric together, I set a timer to interrupt every 10 minutes. At its chime, I included a jasper bead. Each red bead incorporated into the lattice represents the end of a working day. Thus, the fabric captures the time and labor of its own construction: it is time, kept and crystallized.

Shown as part of Strange Time at SOIL Artist-run Gallery, April 2025.

This fabric is both pliable and porous. Its regular grid warps when draped or suspended in air.

Geologically, an inclusion refers to a foreign material trapped in a mineral during its formation. These act as time capsules, providing information about the conditions in which a crystal was formed.

The multicolors found within jasper are themselves the result of inclusions (red, for example, from iron).

The wire (or thread) forms a shape similar to a mathematical space-filling curve. Taking advantage of this shape to create an electrial circuit, energy can be converted into heat and used to transform color.

In the center portion of this square are glass beads coated in heat reactive pigment. I wove these and opaque black glass beads together with copper wire (enameled with polyurethane to provide insulation and prevent short circuiting). When connected to battery power, the wire heats up, activating the pigment and temporarily shifting the color from black to transparent.

on / hot

off / cold

Connected in parallel, these squares can be controlled as modular, individually indexed “pixels” and form a rudimentary screen. This pixel was developed in tandem with Lee Wilkins and Alex Bachmayer.

Shown as part of Radiant Fibers swatch library, a group exhibition curated by Craftwork.

As I experimented with this technique, I needed know the number of beads required for a design of a given size. It turns out a square weaving is not as straightforward as n², but is composed of 4 triangles that follow the triangular number sequence (1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21...). For example, a square weaving where n is 5 requires 4 x 15, or 60, beads.

To aid in designing and planning my weavings, I first made a ceramic template/jig and later a digital web tool, Beadweaver.

Shown as part of Toolish Behavior group show at Clive Davis Gallery, NYU, Brooklyn NY, September–October 2025, curated by shuang cai and featured in White Hot Magazine.

Hexagonal bead weaving is a variation that makes (no surprise) hexagons. This can be augmented with pentagonal weaving to create circles.

Ocean Rosary is a ring of glass beads interspersed with stones collected on the shore, and a single sterling silver bead made during the Greenhouse Residency at Mendocino Art Center. Rather than thread, each stone is suspended in a silver wire enclosure and chained together with beads.

Last updated October 7, 2025