By CASEY RESSLER

Frontiersman

Local artists are turning tiny pieces of glass and plastic into elaborate works of art, items that are surely worth more than the sum of their parts.

Rooted in Alaska's Native culture, the practice of beading is alive and well in the Valley, thanks to the efforts of the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society, a group dedicated to furthering the art locally.

&#8220Each bead is like a tiny little pixel that must be placed. All of those little pixels, when seen together, make something special,” said Jeanette Shanigan, president and founder of the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society. &#8220All of the members have varied interests, and their beading reflects that.”

Beading is often hard to categorize, simply because it takes on many forms. Whether it be a framed wall hanging depicting an artistic scene or a wearable piece of art such as a beaded bracelet, there are no hard and fast rules about the shape the art must take.

&#8220Each person has their own talent. I do more of the art type of beading, while a lot of the members do jewelry,” said Cheryl Lacy, the group's treasurer. &#8220Some like to combine beads with metal, knitting, clay.”

Many in the local bead society credit Lacy with having one of the brightest artistic minds around. She has one of her beaded pieces traveling around the country in &#8220The Beaded Figure” exhibit, which visited Wasilla last year (Wasilla's Connie Halverson also is featured). She has organized several projects for the society in which members are given small squares and they bead them however they like. Lacy then puts the squares together into a predetermined piece of work.

In the first two years of the project, members unknowingly created a colorful Native mask, which was donated to Mat-Su College as a thank-you gift for allowing the society to meet there. Last year's creation, &#8220Bear of a Different Color,” was a beaded patchwork bear that was sold to a Native corporation as a fund-raiser for the group. This year's project, which was recently completed, continues that theme with &#8220Bird of a Different Color.” Members beaded football-shaped pieces of fabric, and Lacy compiled them into a bird shape.

&#8220It's a neat project because everybody has the same shape, and there are so many different creations,” Shanigan said.

Lacy said for her, beading is a form of meditation, a time when she can relax and let her mind clear.

&#8220It's very versatile and fun. You can do just about anything with beads,” she said.

But what inspires someone to look at a plastic tub of tiny beads and think of something on such a grand scale?

&#8220At the end, it's fun to see something you made out of nothing,” said Julie Anderson, a relative newcomer to the world of beading. &#8220It's very addictive. Once you pick up your project, you usually can't put it down.”

Like other artists, Anderson is finding ways to bring other forms into her work. She has several pieces that include clay, for example.

&#8220I got the clay for Christmas and decided I was going to use it in my beading somehow,” she said with a laugh.

Shanigan said for her, beading was an outlet from the grind of teaching.

&#8220I taught high school for 31 years, and when I had a bad day, I would come home and take it out my beads,” she said. &#8220Most beaders are driven to create things, and this is our medium.”

Shanigan helped found the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society eight years ago, after commuting to Anchorage for meetings there. The first meeting yielded 12 prospective members, and the group has gradually gotten bigger. There are now 32 members. Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month (September through May only) at Mat-Su College, and benefits of joining the club include expert instruction.

&#8220We have big-name guests who give classes every fall. This fall, we'll have Jeanette Cook, who is well known among beaders, for example,” Shanigan said. &#8220Most of the classes we do are free or have a nominal fee, and classes at the big shows with some of these people could cost $100, $150. We work hard to bring up people like that.”

Those interested in joining the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society can visit the group's Web site at www.msvbeadsociety.homestead.com or call 376-7171.