11 x 14” Watercolor on Clayboard

My fascination with trade beads began with a visit to a rendezvous.  The modern day rendezvous is a reenactment of the early days of westward expansion in which trapper/traders and Native Americans traded goods and culture.  In the initial stages, the trade was driven by luxury goods: beaver pelts for beads and metal goods.  The objects of the trade were the currency.  Beaver pelts and beads were major currency at one time.  Those two items, ironically, were largely luxury goods: making westward expansion and trade a fashion-driven enterprise!