OUR STORY
Who IS The Bead Muse?
This question is one that I always find I'm ill-equipped to answer straightforwardly.
Who is The Bead Muse?
Well, I'd say it's me. Hi! I'm Califia Hurtado.
Most of my friends and acquaintances call me Cali.
I am an artist. A wife. A mother. A naturalist. A chronically ill person. Some would say that I'm a warrior because I went through a rough childhood with medical neglect, diagnosed and untreated ADHD, undiagnosed autism, mental abuse, and more. But being a warrior and a survivor are two different things. I didn't fight back. I didn't go to war to protect myself. I didn't know how, and during my youth, I believed everyone grew up the way I did. I couldn't understand how some people were so different from me if their mothers were like mine.
So now, I'm an untreated ADHD goblin. I learn skills when the hyperfixation hits. Some stick around and are useful additions to my repertoire. Others fall to the wayside and only pop up once yearly, twice a year if I'm lucky.
I absorb information about all kinds of things. I take inspiration from nature, the incredible artisans I grew up around while working at the Texas Renaissance Festival, and the random bits of sudden insight that happen when meeting new people.
My world is a uniquely visual one. I see things differently than others. I view the natural world as a sacred space: any damage done to by humanity it is desecration. And that makes me "radical," or something.
That's what I've been told.
When I started making jewelry and pursuing this craft, I could visualize the designs I wanted to accomplish. It took a few years for my skills to catch up with my vision. I'm grateful I hung in long enough for the "ugly duckling" phase to pass.
I've spent 15 years learning, growing, and achieving things I couldn't imagine as a child or teen. Even as a young artisan, the idea of winning first and third place in the State Fair of Texas Creative Arts competition was never on my radar. It's been a wild ride with beautiful creations, and I hope I continue it for many years.
Thank you for being a part of this journey, it means the world to me.
