13 glass bead pieces of various colors.
1. - flat, rounded slate-blue bead with wavy lines on either flat side; has two tiny round beads (one blue, one black) fused to it.
2. - flat, rounded slate-blue bead with wavy lines on either flat side; malformed with a bump on one side and chips on the other.
3. - three-pointed fusion of beads, including one ovular bead that is clear with a black center band and several bluish and white fused beads.
4. - three-pointed fusion of bluish-black beads, with a wire sticking out of one side and a white hollow-tubed bead fused to a side opposite to the wire.
5. - semi-flat white and black bead
6. - ovular blue bead with dimples; two smaller black beads fused to either end of the long side of the oval
7. - small mass of fused beads in black, clear, blue, and green
8a. & 8b. - two halves of an ovular bead, split down the long side. The bead halves are white with a blue design (possibly a flower) on them.
9. - ovular red bead with small clear mass fused to one side
10. - round, opaque black bead, slightly misshapen
11. - small cluster of fused round beads in white, red, and blackish-green
12. - small cluster of fused round beads in white, blues, and dark green
The Fourmile Canyon Fire began Monday, September 6, 2010 and due to the low humidity and high winds, it spread very quickly. It was declared 100% contained on September 13. A total of 169 homes were destroyed, at the time, the highest number of homes destroyed by wildfire in Colorado history until the High Park and Waldo Canyon fires of 2012. The home of Ardith Sehulster and Eugene Tidball located in Sunshine Canyon was one of the first destroyed by the Fourmile Canyon Fire. The only items that could be salvaged from their home was one cast-iron floor grate, a garden statue, a plate (2020.40.1), and these beads.
The beads were part of Ardith Sehulster’s sewing, art, needle, and beading projects. The little array of beads is the only thing left from her art studio - the fire took 3 advanced sewing machines, several thousand patterns, several thousand yards of fabric, many art supplies including paints and pencils and paper, and a vast collection of beads and related tools.