BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) — A Biloxi architect is giving discarded Mardi Gras beads new life by transforming them into colorful bayou-inspired art pieces.
Daria Pizzetta, known for her work in the maritime and seafood industry, has channeled her artistic side into creating a beaded alligator sculpture using parade throws collected over the years.
“It’s an alligator that was inspired actually by some of Walter Anderson’s work. I found an alligator. I drew an alligator. I plotted him out. I put him on some plywood and then my nephew cut him out. And then my sister and I beaded him after we painted a pattern on there. So it’s just a way to recycle Mardi Gras beads and make some decorations for the house,” Pizzetta said.
80-hour family project
The project took about 80 hours to complete over two weeks, with Pizzetta and her sister spending several hours each day carefully gluing discarded beads together to form the colorful pattern.
“That’s the fun part. We find unique beads. And this is all stuff that we have caught. We have not bought any of these. And, you know, figure out what we can do with them. So there’s like some coins that make the scales on the feet and things like that,” she said.
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The art project serves as both a creative outlet and family bonding time.
“My sisters are a lot of fun most of the time. And we have a good time just standing around, you know, chatting and then putting the glue down and then deciding, you know, which colors are going where. And also, do you take the beads off the string or do you keep them on the string?” Pizzetta said.
Future bayou menagerie planned
The alligator is just the beginning of Pizzetta’s artistic vision. She plans to create an entire collection of bayou animals using the same technique.
“Oh I have a whole menagerie of bayou animals that are planned for the coming years. I want to do a pelican and a frog and a turtle and some bulrushes. And if I could do it a crawfish, but it’d be kind of small,” she said.
“I think that in the future, every one of my relatives is going to have something like this in their yard,” Pizzetta said.
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The pieces are not for sale, but Pizzetta hopes her bead bayou inspires others to get creative with their own Mardi Gras throws.
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