TANJUNG DATU: The beaded art of Wendy Ellsworth is featured in “A Passion for Beads,” running January 14 through April 22 at the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, January 14 at 2 p.m.

Wendy Ellsworth creates art bead by tiny bead, and with a seemingly endless variety of colors, shapes, and textures at her fingertips, her palette appears unlimited.

“I consider myself a color artist, with beads representing tiny photons of colored light which can be woven together to form infinite patterns of beauty and delight,” Ellsworth said. 

“Wendy Ellsworth: A Passion for Beads” opens at the Hunterdon Art Museum (HAM) on Sunday, January 14. At 1 p.m., she will participate in a lecture and question-and-answer session with her husband, David Ellsworth, a master woodturner who also has a solo exhibition at HAM opening that day. The show’s opening reception will follow at 2 p.m. Everyone is welcome to both events.

The exhibition also features Resisting the Mirror from her Stick Figure Series. “I found a stick in the forest and wove the entire surface with seed beads,” Ellsworth explained. “The fragility of the wood is meant to mirror the fragility of life. As well, the piece is meant to represent how I feel when someone I know — usually one of my kids — tells me to take a serious look at myself in the mirror, and the contortions I sometimes go through in resistance to doing that.”

The Hunterdon Art Museum is located at 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and suggested admission is $5. For more information, call (908) 735-8415 or visit the website at www.hunterdonartmuseum.org.