Coquitlam Public Library

Glass Bead Making In Turkey And Ghana

videorecording

Glass Bead Making In Turkey And Ghana

921956012

Originally produced by Ends of the Earth in 2006

44

Intended to provide a complete and permanent record of surviving traditions and skills in textiles and crafts, the Ends of the Earth unique series show the processes in full, in detail and with all the clarity and colour made possible by modern video cameras. In many ways they are better than being there - pausing and replaying gives the possibility of checking again where the quickness of the hands has eluded or deceived the eye. In Turkey the tradition is to make glass beads in a unique, specially designed furnace around which the craftsmen sit. Through his own window, the craftsman manipulates and embellishes the bead in the fiery interior. In Ghana, the base ingredients of the glass beads are assembled in moulds. The moulds are then fired in a kiln and the ingredients are transformed into colourful glass beads. Filmed in the workshop of Mahmut Sur in Kurudere near Izmir, Turkey, and in the workshop of Nomodo Djaba in Krobo, Ghana

live action