ROCKWOOD — Like an artist applying colors with a paintbrush to a canvas, Mariette Tomer of Rockwood works her magic with a needle and tiny beads.

Beadwork is a vanishing art, according to Tomer, who said it was the reason she learned the process. She first started the craft years ago, beading a rosary and has since progressed to intricate designs using tiny beads on clothing.

“If you like to work with your hands and a needle, then I think you can do it,” Tomer said. She admitted that it is tedious work and low paying, making it unattractive to younger people.

Tomer, who is part Maliseet Indian, learned the craft from older members of the tribe, known for their beautiful beadwork. Her daughter, Amy, also does beadwork which they sell, along with other Indian crafts, from a small shop in Rockwood, called Nee-Bur-Bann, meaning northern lights. A small cloth teepee, which once housed the business and still stands at the entrance of their home, reminds them of their humble start.

The smell of the shop is pleasing as the sunshine filtering through the windows warm the sweet grass products. Leather outfits worn at family weddings, including Tomer’s bridal dress, are displayed along its walls.

Seated on a stool and working from a small area, Tomer’s slides the minute beads onto a needle with only a pause to reflect the colors. Sometimes her fingers are sore from being pricked from the needle so much, a pain she is familiar with after years as a seamstress. “I’ve always worked with my hands,” she said.

Today, some of her beadwork and leather products can be found in England, Greece, Germany, South America and the Netherlands, carried back by visitors to her shop. One of her products, a beaded alter cloth, is used during special occasions on Indian Island.

When people look over her colorful masterpieces, Tomer said, they say “Wow, how long does it take you?” It takes about a week to complete a fancy necklace, which she sells for about $100. She spends about half a day, every day, working on projects ranging from earrings to cloth gun cases.

Tomer, who says she has a photogenic memory, can take a request from a customer and picture it in her mind as a finished product.

Many of her beadwork projects are decorated with porcupine quills and feathers, which are supplied from hunters or taken from road kills. The removal of the quills from a pelt and the trimming of the barbs is quite tedious and exacting work, she said. One small mistake and a prick from a quill will leave a finger very sore.

“It’s worse than a fishhook injury,” Tomer said. The quills are sterilized and often dyed to match certain beads.

In most cases, Tomer and her daughter design their own patterns by making a graph. Amy Tomer designed, by special request, a hat band depicting a three-dimensional panoramic view of the Moosehead Lake shoreline with its bordering mountains.

“You need to build up your patience because you need it to do beadwork,” Tomer said. “I like it so well that if I could, I would do it steady,” she said, adding that she never gets discouraged. Two or three new projects enter her head while she talks. “Actually, I don’t consider it a job, but a hobby,” she said.

To help other Indians, the Tomers sell only authentic Indian crafts at their shop, from baskets to clothing. During the ice fishing season, Tomer sells many of her knitted socks because they provide much warmth. Other favorites among customers are the beaded bracelets and barrettes.