Ethel Begay is of the Edge Water Clan, born for Bitter Water, with Red House and Mexican People in her lineage. She learned to bead from her mother, the late Rena C. Whitehorse, who spent every spare moment working on jewelry.
Any time there was a quiet moment in the house, Ethel remembers finding her mother beading — a rhythm and presence woven into her childhood.
Ethel has been making Ghost Bead jewelry for about 50 years, and truly for as long as she can remember. Because of this lifelong experience, she has become a highly accomplished artist whose work is both beautiful and deeply traditional.
Her pieces reflect decades of practice, care, and precision.
She especially enjoys trying new colors and working with different sizes of cedar beads, bringing her own creativity into the art form while continuing the legacy she inherited from her mother.
Every necklace Ethel creates is part of a tradition passed lovingly from one generation to the next.
