Linda Fifield is a Kentucky bead artist who is perhaps best know for beading over wooden vessels that she or her husband turns on a lathe. Her work is beautiful and precise, often with expert color gradations, and sometimes the addition of ruffles or flames tipped with orange.

The Kentucky Craft History and Education Association (KCHEA) has started loading videos of craft luminaries: “Linda was raised in rural Kentucky with her extended family engaged in functional crafts. She began her exploration of beading after being inspired by an exhibition at Chicago’s Field Museum. Linda has developed a unique method of beading. In these excerpts she talks about influences of place and family in the development of her career, her beading techniques, and design influences. She discusses the benefits she has derived from participation with many different craft programs in Kentucky and the region.”

There are several videos on Linda Fifield’s page on the Kentucky Craft History website. Each video is about two minutes or less, where she discusses each topic individually. The purpose of the Craft Luminary Project is to document and preserve through video history interviews the personal stories of individuals who have made significant contributions to Kentucky’s craft movement and impacted Kentucky craft history. We are fortunate that Linda was chosen as one of the three samples posted, of the more than 60 interviews KCHEA has conducted over the last five years.