Rhoda Teplow, a U.C. Berkeley graduate, was introduced to African trade beads during her stint in Togo, West Africa as a member of the Peace Corp. Her life and work are as diverse as the beads she incorporates including her own handmade porcelain beads, brass from the Ashanti tribe, recycled glass beads from the Krobo tribe in Ghana, hand-carved jade beads from the middle fork of the Eel River, Tibetan/Nepalese jewelry, colorful handmade beads from a tribe in Bali and other beads she has collected in her travels around the world.

When Teplow returned to Mendocino after the Peace Corp, she taught dance - particularly dances she had learned in west Africa and formed a dance troupe called “Ivory.” Following that path, Teplow became founder and director of the acclaimed Mendocino Dance Series, bringing dance companies from around the world to Cotton Auditorium. She was agent for La Tania, a world-class Flemnco dancer and later promoted jazz singer Scotty Wright, booking jazz acts into the Ocean Club at Hill House. In the 1990’s she taught at the Coastal adult School for Fort Bragg Unified School District.

Teplow’s unique jewelry can been seen in Mendocino at the Edgewater Gallery, the Mendocino Art Center, Artists’ Collective of Elk, the Dolphin Gallery, and the Gualala Art Center.