(42) Maryland

Capitol: Annapolis

Wow, this was a hard one. First, size and shape made cutting out the base and working with this piece incredibly challenging. In this scale, MD is about 3/4" tall, and 1/2" - 1" wide, including the Chesapeake Bay. Normally I wouldn't include a body of water in the piece, but every time I tried to cut the state out without the bay it fell apart. So, bay included.

Second, I spent almost 10 years living in Maryland, so naturally I have many fond memories that could be represented. I worked at IBM, met my husband, got my first dog, 2nd and 3rd cats, bought our first house, learned to mountain bike, started beading, the list goes on and on. All very hard to bead on a mostly 3/4" x 1/2" canvas, split by the Chesapeake! So, off to research.

An interesting fact about Maryland, and one that really lent itself to "bead interpretation" is: "On the morning of August 10, 1813 residents of St. Michaels, having been forewarned of a British attack, hoisted lanterns to the masts of ships and in the tops of the trees. The height of the light caused cannons to overshoot the town. This first known blackout was effective and only one house was struck, and is now known as the "Cannonball House". The town has been know as the town that fooled the British since this historic event".

I beaded the Chesapeake blue, and the rest of the state black, to represent nighttime. Then I added some upright black bugle beads with sparkly crystals on top to represent the raised lights.