Making Kimmeridge Shale Beads

Рет қаралды 7,133

Sally Pointer

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 72

@sigrid2402 4 ай бұрын

This is lovely for today's fashion as well.

@emmabroughton2039 6 ай бұрын

Fascinating, thank you, Sally. I had never heard of Kimmeridge Shale before this and it's always interesting to learn about a new (to me) material and it's uses.

@Beryllahawk 6 ай бұрын

Oh you got my attention INSTANTLY with this one - I adore beads, have made a few myself, but out of modern materials of course. Those are perfectly lovely!! And thinking on how much work that took even with such soft stone really, really puts a new perspective on just how important having such adornment must have been. I know you've said it was just an afternoon's worth of work, and compared to many many other types of preparation and materials I believe you that shale beads are "easy" - as much as anything was easy for Paleolithic folks. But it's still an entire afternoon spent on something beautiful rather than on gathering food in some manner or tending to shelter. And that alone says how much we humans have always needed beautiful things right along with our bread and meat. It nourishes us, doesn't it? And I love the idea of gathering in lots of pretty stones, bone bits, scraps of wood or attractive seeds and nuts, just to be able to spend maybe a little time in winter on creating pretty things for yourself and your community. The REALLY lovely things, that would have taken more work (thinking of semi precious stones that are harder than shale), those were for special occasions and higher status folks perhaps, but bones and nutshells could have been for anyone, couldn't they!

@sarahs784 6 ай бұрын

Interesting, thank you. I used to go fossil hunting with my father at kimmeridge bay as a child. I wonder if people might have incorporated amonites and other small fossils into necklaces, along with the shale etc? They may be too hard to drill holes for the string with hand tools though.

@kerravonsen2810 6 ай бұрын

They wouldn't necessarily need to drill holes in them, they could wrap them in cord or sinew to make a pendant. Ancient macrame.

@dorrud 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for continuing to share your knowledge 🥰🥰

@anachibi 6 ай бұрын

Wow, those shine up so pretty!

@paulinemegson8519 6 ай бұрын

This was very cool. I love the way jewellery has ALWAYS been a part of being human. Adornment, and making things with which to adorn oneself are surer signs of humanity to me than speech, religion or any other social construct. EVERY human has wanted and made if they could, things to decorate themselves. Thank you for this Sally.

@catastrfy 6 ай бұрын

oooh, beautiful! i didn't know shales made beautiful beads and i am entranced. so lovely with the amber!

@morganpresley496 6 ай бұрын

Can you make a video showing how hand drilling works? Since you've mentioned it in the past few videos, I've gotten curious about it! Thanks as always for the excellent videos! I've learned so much from your channel! :D

@linr8260 6 ай бұрын

Oh, these are beautiful... I was wondering. You mentioned dyed bone; what would it have been dyed with?

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

Tannin and an iron rich substance usually does the trick

@linr8260 6 ай бұрын

@@SallyPointerthank you!

@eyesofthecervino3366 6 ай бұрын

@@SallyPointer Oh! I think I've seen this done, but with wood. Steel wool and a brew of oak leaves or tea -- it's amazing how dark this makes it.

@ClockworkFaery 6 ай бұрын

I might have a go at making some beads. Thank you. ❤

@sarahjarden8306 6 ай бұрын

Lots of work there! Beautiful looking necklace. Just asking, I know we (modern day folk) get hung up on symmetry, were people in history bothered about symmetry?

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

Six of one, half a dozen of another. They aren't as fixated on machined perfection as we are, but they have a definite eye for design and balance.

@suzz1776 6 ай бұрын

Try putting a thin piece of leather or cloth over the 'pencil' so when u wack it the bead blank doesnt fly everywhere. I can just imagine the stone age people having to chase the blanks all over a cave or something and they wouldnt be able to find them, so they probably would have used something to prevent that.

@debbiej.2168 6 ай бұрын

Beautiful necklace.

@MoniqueAO888 6 ай бұрын

Your videos are always so informative and precious...thank you for sharing !!!

@lajsa8160 6 ай бұрын

You are such a wonderful storyteller/teacher, thank you for teaching me something I have wondered forever! What an amazing material. Do you know if this type of shale or something similar exists in the Nordics? I am struggling a bit with the language barrier of rock names, but I want to make beads! A few years ago you taught me (through youtube) how to make corgage or string from nettles, and now you have me hooked on trying another skill!

@hydrophobicbathtowel6816 24 күн бұрын

Place a piece of cloth over the end before striking the blade so it hits the cloth and stays nearby?

@artofescapism 6 ай бұрын

Such an interesting craft! I find it interesting to think about people in the past making jewelry just like that (minus the drill lol). Thank you for showing us how it's made!

@charredbirchguy2349 6 ай бұрын

When cutting the shale, try placing a cloth in the direction that the pieces fly off, to catch them. You won't have to go fetch them, and they'll be less likely to hit something and crack.

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

I usually put a basket there, just didn't get to it totally

@Eli-um6gx 6 ай бұрын

Perhaps this is a basic question, and more to do with the amount of time you had, but I'm curious if the beads found ever had more elaborate carving on them, since the material is so soft?

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

There is a lot published on beads in prehistory, so to see the range of styles known in a particular material you'll first need to pin down a date range, then it's fairly easy to look up finds in that range to see what shapes are prevalent. For some of the fanciest shale beads, have a look at the Monster Beads from Scotland for starters

@Linden68 6 ай бұрын

Another really interesting video - thank you - and the finished beads are beautiful! I’m curious though, does the beeswax and leather give the shale a permanent shine, or would the wearer have needed to re-polish the beads occasionally?

@amandajstar 6 ай бұрын

And what impresses me too is how it darkens the beads -- like pebbles under water.

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

We know shale furniture was regularly oiled in Roman records, beads do like the oil from skin to maintain the dark lustre

@sillyjellyfish2421 6 ай бұрын

Write it down! Write it down! But seriously, this couldn't have come in a btter moment. I'm putting together a na'vi cosplay for the summer con season and i was struggling with figuring out how to make beads for the necklace that wouldn't look awfully plastic or pre-made. The leather and beeswax polishing method looks so simple and straightforward i can't believe that i never heard of it before. Thanks for teaching me about the beadmaking today ❤

@agentjeb4103 6 ай бұрын

Just yesterday, after listening to the Origin Stories podcast, I was wondering how various kinds of beads were made in the stone age. Great video!

@lisascenic 6 ай бұрын

Really lovely. What a fascinating material.

@kariannecrysler640 6 ай бұрын

It’s beautiful!

@jakes9708 6 ай бұрын

As an American in the 21st Century I spend way more time thinking about "British Cavemen" than SNL thinks I do. Sweet necklace, BTW.

@guymontag2948 6 ай бұрын

You've got me wondering about the shale in my area now. The style you used may be neolithic but I don't think it would look out of place today. Beautiful work.

@ignaz3254 6 ай бұрын

Wow, these look great!

@Амин-т4х 6 ай бұрын

1:22 Makes me wonder how ancient people cut those out without metal tools

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

Flint is marvellous, and makes excellent saws

@jaytalbot1146 6 ай бұрын

@@SallyPointer A saw is one thing, but while I've seen pictures of flint drills, I'd think they be difficult to make and very fragile. making a small hole without metal tools seems challenging, or at best very slow.

@Beryllahawk 6 ай бұрын

@@jaytalbot1146 Definitely slow! I've had occasion to use a plain hand drill (on wood not stone) and it took F O R E V E R. It seems to me that a flint tool would require patience AND care, and probably lots of spare tools for the inevitable breakage. The good news being, flint was apparently everywhere, so at least it was relatively simple to get more!

@rondakriewitz5804 6 ай бұрын

Thank you. I really enjoy the monster bead. It is fun to watch the beads fly.

@kringsja9913 6 ай бұрын

great video :) im wondering whould be the best to use as string? sinew/spun fibres or braided fiber. is spun fibre strong enough, and if i braid it it wil be to thick.

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

Sinew is good, and a three ply twist is the most abrasion resistant

@kringsja9913 6 ай бұрын

@@SallyPointer thanks :)

@LadyValkyri 6 ай бұрын

Beautiful work! Hugs

@Witchlinblue 5 ай бұрын

Could those monster beads be for on spindles? Also, is that shale flammable?

@SallyPointer 5 ай бұрын

Oh yes it burns!

@kerravonsen2810 6 ай бұрын

Very cool. Much patience required.

@2degucitas 6 ай бұрын

Have you tried doing something with anthracite, the hardest form of coal? I have a piece and it shines up looking like jet. Where'd you get the amber?

@SallyPointer 6 ай бұрын

Cannel coal often turns up when looking for jet up north, it's a lot more brittle though

@2degucitas 6 ай бұрын

@@SallyPointer Probably because it doesn't contain clay.

@sandraanderson217 6 ай бұрын

That is so beautiful! With all of the work they had to do just to live comfortably, shelter, clothing and food… something like your necklace would have been a nice “lazy” rainy day project. ❤ Thank you for sharing!

@FireflyOnTheMoon 6 ай бұрын

Not really. They may well have had dedicated craftsmen dedicated to just producing art and crafts.

@Kera.S. 6 ай бұрын

You do the coolest things. I love learning here ❣️💙

@DJWerndly 6 ай бұрын

Lovely video Sally :) do you know much about indigenous Australian personal adornment traditions? It would be interesting to see you try your hand at some BIF/Chert or shell beads

@mrkultra1655 6 ай бұрын

That is some great work, thanks

@noaccount2494 6 ай бұрын

Well this just seems like yet another sign I should get back into jewelry making. I know someone that does ethically sourced bone art so maybe I can ask them if they'd make bone beads for commission.