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| About The Black Dragon | ||||||
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MONG THE VARIOUS adornments worn by the Celts were beads. Examples dating from the earliest times have been found throughout Europe, Britain and Ireland. Some of the finest of these have been unearthed in burial mounds and chambers constructed for high-ranking Celtic chiefs and their followers. | These beads vary from the plain to the highly decorated, and they have been found made from gold, silver, electrom, stone, black jet, bone, amber and, occasionally, semi-precious stones. It is quite possible that the Celts were influenced in the making of beads by the ancient Egyptians, who were highly skilled at bead-making and used lapis lazuli, carnelian and jade in their highly polished necklaces. | ||||
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Today carved Celtic beads are being ingeniously created in south Wales by Annie Wealleans, alias The Black Dragon of Black Dragon Crafts.
Although Annie has come across many beautiful pieces of silver and gold Celtic jewellery, part of the ethos behind her Celtix beads was that they had to be affordable. Annie wanted to design a collection of beads with which she could produce a range of jewellery that was within everyone's reach. She has always thought it unfair that beautiful things should be the prerogative of the privileged. Her first Celtix offerings were moulded in recycled plastic and plated with silver. The next versions were cast in solid lead-free pewter, plated with pure silver and antique lacquered. Nearly 20 years later and Annie now casts them herself in solid lead and nickel free pewter, then barrel polishes, hand finishes and antiques them. They feel fabulous and look valuable. Beware of imitations. |
Annie in her workshop |
Fine contemporary Celtic cross at St Ishmael's overlooking Carmarthen Bay, Wales. |
Annie first began using Celtic knotwork in the leather she was carving and embossing, and gradually became more and more ambitious with the designs.
She took to visiting the ancient sites and immersing herself in the history of the area, finding that there was much to learn from the days of the old ways. Her family lived close to the land, so it was easy to imagine the life of the ancient Celts. Annie recalls: "We marvelled at stone circles, grieved on burial mounds, clambered over castle walls and sought out interesting headstones in graveyards." She finds special inspiration in the little church at St Ismael's; in the churchyard is an extremely fine example of a contemporary Celtic cross, with highly detailed carving. When asked at a trade fair why she didn't use Celtic beads in her jewellery Annie searched through all the bead catalogues she could find - not only in the UK but further afield as well - but found absolutely nothing. Eventually she decided to see if she could make them herself and began her long and interesting journey towards the birth of her Celtix beads collection. |
 
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