Main Bead Embroidery Kit Mai (a child of light)

“Mai (a child of light)” is a portrait of a young Japanese woman in a pale kimono against a deep red ground. The mood is restrained and warm, almost like an old oriental postcard.

What the picture shows

She is turned slightly towards the viewer, her dark hair gathered into a high knot with an ornate pin and flowers. The kimono is cream and gold, patterned, with green inserts near the collar and kept in warm ochre tones. The background is a saturated red with a large gold character on the left and light golden strokes on the right. Beads cover the hair ornament, single strands of hair, the pattern of the kimono, the green details and the gold marks on the background. The face and hands stay as print on the canvas — and against the velvety red the gold beads give exactly the restrained sheen the portrait needs.

What is in the kit

• Artist canvas with the full-colour pattern printed on it — no chart to follow on a screen
• Czech Preciosa beads, 8 colours
• Beading needles
• Instructions and finishing guide

Specifications

• Finished size: 185×250 mm (7.2×9.8 in)
• Beads: approx. 1,727
• Bead colours: 8
• Difficulty: medium
• Base: artist canvas

The piece is vertical and sits well in a living room or in an interior with oriental motifs. Gallery finishing is possible — the canvas stretches over a bar. The vertical format is narrow, so the figure fills almost the whole field and needs no neighbouring pictures.