Imfibinga/Ubuchwabasi (Jobs tears/river stones)
These beads are usually found along the side of the river.
They come in natural grayish shades and they are almost shaped like an onion, with a semi oval top and a slightly rounded bottom. They have a hard shell like cover and they are soft in the middle with a hole that runs through, from top to bottom.
I felt interested in the way they naturally come in different shades so I decided to used that to create patterns for beaded neck pieces.
Triangle patterns using the Zulu love letter stitch to make a choker.
An Ombre of the variety of the shades from the beads, using the Rope stitch on a 4 strand pattern.
A twisted effect using the rope stitch, on a 3 strand pattern
I would enjoy to explore a bit more with these beads, for an example, to colour them in bright colours and use them in smaller jewellery pieces.
