Maria’s work adds flavor and depth to our gallery. It speaks of her life story… of living abroad and travel, fusing her experiences. She also does this for others who commission her to artistically memorialize their adventures. To me, Maria’s work is a story. Each bead representing a memory, respecting and honoring the life of the animal. The patterns and meticulous designs are Maria’s way of highlighting the beauty of life and in all living things. I find tradition and modernity in her work all at the same time. It’s quite beautiful. True to life, no two of her pieces are the same. Maria is an artist who is making her mark on a very competitive art market.
As a lifelong hunter I have a large collection of traditional shoulder mounts in our home. So much so that my wife told me “Bring one more home & I will have you stuffed and hung on the wall!” That was until I found Maria D’Souza and her beaded skulls through a friend at our Safari Club. Maria made a stunning piece from a Kudu skull I had from a recent hunt, in my wife’s favorite colors and she LOVED it! My wife even asked when I am going on my next hunt as she wants to have another skull done by Maria that she can pick out the stones for!
I had been contacted by a potential client to present potential designs for the great room of their vacation home in Sun Dance Utah, including art work. Since they had this amazing stone fireplace I presented photos of some of Maria D’Souza’s Beaded Bison Skulls and proposed a custom made piece. Long story short, the client loved it, I got the contract, and the piece Maria created exceeded my and my client’s expectations! Maria was great to work with, and was able to interpret exactly what my client wanted into an amazing piece of art!