File:Bullet Worry Strand by Jan Yager.jpg

English: Title: BULLET PRAYER BEADS / aka BULLET WORRY STRAND

Series: City Flotsam: The American Deal Series Artist: Jan Yager (American b.1951- ) Object: Prayer Beads / Worry Strand Date: 1995 -1999 Measurement: Height 42cm/16.5in Materials: (33) found brass and aluminum spent bullet casings, (1) found brass crucifix pen knife, (1) found brass hotel key, (1) found brass bike lock key, (1) found heart inscribed “Lindo Con Sally” Strung on black nylon cord. Techniques: Gathered, sanitized, sorted, drilled, strung Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

Sometimes, I found spent bullet casings on the sidewalk outside my studio. I was always compelled to pick them up and add them to my collection, but I never knew what to do with them. It didn’t seem right, to incorporate evidence of deadly intent, into a wearable ornament. Then, I read The History of Beads, by Lois Sherr Dubin, [Abrams 1987]. and learned that the word “bead” has roots in Anglo-Saxon and means “to pray” or “prayer”. And, that Muslim “prayer beads” are composed of 33 beads cycled 3 times, while meditating on the 99 qualities of God. When I counted the spent bullet casings I gathered, I audibly gasped - I had exactly 33! Finally, I knew what to do with those bullets! Drilling holes in the bullets rendered them useless, and transformed them into beads - and thus prayers. Often prayer and worry beads end in a tassle, so I clustered random brass objects also found on the sidewalk: a hotel key, a bike lock key, a crucifix penknife, and a heart inscribed “Lindo con Sally” to complete the strand. The long and complicated relationship Americans have with guns, and the increasing

levels of gun violence across America, and around the world – surely warrant prayers. – Jan Yager