Justin Parke

💚💛❤️ Rastafari Craft Day 🎨 With The @KidSisters 👨‍🎨

I sat down with the @KidSisters this morning to help them make their own Rastafari necklaces with Tewahedo pendants 📿👩‍🎨.

❤️💛💚 TEACH THE YOUTHS 💚💛❤️

@Sreypov and I have been together for nearly 5 years, and the whole family has learned a little about my personal Rastafari livity through the years, but I've never pushed any of it on them.

One of the lessons I've taught them is why I don't buy or wear gold/silver/precious stone jewelry. I feel if you truly love your Queen, the last thing you would do is adorn her with things that people kill each other for.

This has never been something in disagreement within our family, and there is honestly no place for gold or diamonds within our humble lives.

On the other hand, I can't say the family has ever showed much interest in my Rastafari jewelry, if that's what you can call it. The family has always considered wooden beads to not be an attractive form of jewelry, but recently there's been a change of heart.

I'm not sure if it comes from the general respect the public of Suriname shows the family and I when we are on the streets, but recently the @KidSisters have showed some interest in creating their own wooden bead necklaces complete with some Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo crosses.

🖌️ CRAFT TIME ✂️

I bought three identical pendants like the one below many years ago. They were handcrafted in Ethiopia, and although not expensive, they have a lot of personal value to me.

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](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/justinparke/Qss9riDl-gh.JPG)

STEP 1 First I gathered up several wooden beads of various sizes that I've had for several years, paint, the pendants, a small paintbrush and some wooden skewers to hold the beads for painting.
STEP 2 Monkey-B and SreyYuu cut a piece of fishing line, put their pendants on, then began making a symmetrical design with the beads provided.
STEP 3 The girls kept testing and re-testing different styles, lengths, and bead combinations until discovering the perfect necklace.
STEP 4 After mapping out their necklaces, the @KidSisters then removed thee string from their necklaces and set aside certain bead for painting> They sandwiched the beads between two skewers and began painting thin coats of red, yellow and green.
STEP 5 Monkey-B put the beads out in the sun to dry quickly. When the beads were dry the girls took them back to apply more coats of paint.
STEP 6 Smart Dads remember to have their artisans suit up before painting so they don't ruin those brand new clothes. The girls continued to paint and dry the beads, about 7 to 9 coats of paint in total.
STEP 7 With the beads painted, the @KidSisters reassembled their necklaces and tied off the clasps, project complete.

Monkey-B didn't hold up too well, so she was asleep before she could fully finish her necklace, but SreyYuu soldiered through.

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](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/justinparke/5Np05FBW-vc.JPG)

Pretty awesome style for her first Ital artwork. I think SreyYuu really enjoys making all types of art, but at the moment we're financially limited, so we keep it simple.

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