Bead Arts

Tangle

Artist: Elaine Ray
Location: Raleigh, NC

Website & Blogs:
Elaine Ray
Elaine Ray blog
Art Bead Scene blog

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Elaine, your beads and your business plan are very different from most artists’. How do you describe your work?
Let me first allow you to read my bio as I have it posted on my web site, then I’ll tell you what I’d say if we were to meet on the street!

I have transformed my love for the earth into these small pieces of art. As earth-tone glazes, rich in organic hues, enhance and highlight the individual clay forms my most important message is to celebrate the fact that these beads and pendants are made of clay - tiny bits of the land we walk and live on. I always leave a bit of clay showing to remind us of the small pieces of earth that we are holding and wearing.

Each piece is hand formed, glazed and then fired to approximately 2200º Fahrenheit. The unique colors and shapes of these bead and pendants beg to be made into beautiful, distinctive, wearable art. Originally from Illinois, my clay work now thrives with North Carolina’s pottery traditions and community.

OK, now let’s say we meet at a marching band contest. I’d say “I make beads and pendants out of stoneware clay in my garage.” Then I’d point to whatever piece of jewelry I’m wearing that has my beads or pendants in it, because I always have something on, saying “Like these.” Then I’m nearly always asked if I have my own kiln. “Yes, an electric one with interior dimensions about 18 inches by 24 inches. I fire to approximately 2200 degrees Fahrenheit so it gets plenty hot out there.” Talk some more and eventually I’ll talk about how most of my colors are earth tones and that no I don’t have any for sale, I only sell to bead shops and I plan to look into selling a line of finished jewelry - but I’ve been saying that for a long time and haven’t moved on it. I’m best at making the components and there are stringers out there that amaze me with their designs so I leave that step of finished jewelry up to them.

How did you pick the name of your business?
At the beginning I spent hours thinking and researching a name and settled on Pieces of Earth. I still love that name, but it ended up that someone else has that web site and it became slightly confusing to be somewhat know as Elaine Ray and somewhat known as Pieces of Earth. So now I only use my name for the web site, for my blog, my email and for any communications I have professionally.

What is your creative process like?
As I glance through this list of questions it gets me thinking - this is a good mental exercise for me, not only will I be getting this finished, but every time I go through these type of questions my mind gets more organized, and I can take that into my work, on the business and creative side of things.

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What is it like when you’re creating?
As I attempt to answer this I need to ask myself when is it that am I actually creating a new product? Is is when I see an object that inspires me, when I see a designers end product and think - oh that is marvelous and next time I’ll try X, when I’m fabricating a new tool, or is it when I actually have clay in my hands?

I guess when I’m creating it is like a flow of ideas, I see something that inspires a new idea, I think through just how I’d make that idea - including each step such as forming it out of the clay, applying the glaze and getting it situated in the kiln. As I’m writing this, I realize I almost never think about how a designer will use the final piece at first. Then my typical routine is to show the bead shops a couple of prototypes and they
(the very talented bunch of stringers they are) give me suggestions such as can this hole be bigger/smaller, can there be more holes, less hole, how about making this a little longer, a bit more round, with texture etc. My relationship with Ornamentea in Raleigh has especially helped me in this way. They feel comfortable making suggestions and asking for specific ideas - all of which have turned out to push my creative process further. Which, in turn, gives them new and unusual pieces to design around.


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Do you throw all your materials on the table and let serendipity take its course?
No, I’m really more of a plotter and planner. I don’t plan with pen and paper, but I do plan endlessly in my head. I spend a great deal of time thinking about the actual manufacturing process. I’m sort of nerdy in that manner - I get great delight out of designing and making a new tool, finding a new way to load the kiln, figuring out time saving steps and things like that.

Any typical background sounds in your working environment?
My typical day starts out with NPR Morning edition, then the BBC. Most times I then “watch” DVDs as I work. I put watch in quotes given that I really mostly listen to the movies since my eyes need to be on my work. Then more public radio. Sometimes music, but the radio in my garage is really not so good.

What is your daily schedule like?
In all honesty, this is really set by my kids schedule such as soccer games, marching band competitions and fund raisers, hair cuts, eye appointments, forgotten homework or cleats etc. I chose this job so I can have this type of schedule, but I know I’d be much more productive with a more consistent work schedule.

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What kind of training do you have?
I have worked in clay on and off since childhood, then did take formal classes in college as I got a degree in Occupational Therapy. Since graduating from University of Illinois in 1985 I have taken classes in a variety of community art spaces. That about covers my art / clay training. My training as an Occupational Therapist is probably just as important since it applies to production. I use my background in ergonomics, time saving devices / techniques, billing / time management and problem solving in all aspects of the business. Finally, the training my dad gave me as a kid growing up in the country comes in handy all the time. My dad could fix anything and encouraged all of us to use his tools to problem solve everyday problems and come up with new solutions and ideas. My mom is a music teacher and she really showed us the value of keeping records, keeping on schedule and if you say you are going to do something - do it! As boring as these ideas are - they can really make a difference in business survival. I know many people think that if they just make great art it will sell itself - that is not true. You have to do the business end also.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Yes, there is one glaze that is the base of most of my pieces and I’d be lost without it. Most of my tools are hand made or just easy off the shelf items - easy to replace either. What I couldn’t survive without is my relationship with the bead shops I work with. I think without those personal relationships I’d just be another bead maker in the crowd.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
Sometimes all I need to keep me going is remembering that I have bills to pay! In all reality, I not often frustrated and my work is not that hard. The toughest most frustrating thing for me has been setting up a web site for my wholesale customers to order from. I did plenty of whining during those times - and I’m still not really done, with the web site or the whining….

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What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
That is a good question - I think to grow as an artist you need to feed your sensory field for that art. I need lots and lots of visual stimulation and second to that I need to touch and feel all sorts of things. Also, everyone should look at the business side of their art and address it also. For me, this has been increased computer use and blogging, so words and phrases are becoming an important aspect to be added to the visual images.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
This will sound so corney and contrived, but it is my family completely. We, as a unit, completely drive each other’s schedules and so far - so good!

What’s your favorite non-art activity?
I think here is where a reader likes to know a bit of trivia or something about a person that isn’t directly linked to their art / occupation…..so here is mine. I use up more time than I’d like to admit to anyone playing Tetris.

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Cindy is an extraordinarily versatile mixed media artist. For this profile, the pictures of her work concentrate on her jewelry, but there is much much more to see on her blog! Grab youself a cuppa, and enjoy a visit.

Artists Name: Cynthia Powell
Location: Sandy, Utah
Blog Address: Cynthia Powell

Cindy, how would you describe your work? Not just your jewelry, but all your work.
I love to play around with all types of mediums in my art, so I would have to say it is diversified. No two pieces are ever the same.

What is your creative process like when you’re juggling so many different techniques and media?
Once an idea is sparked, I will create the project in its entirety, in my mind. Occasionally I will draw a specific design to be incorporated into a project, but not often. I keep dozens of journals for jotting down my ideas, and construction plans, because if some particularly difficult aspect of the project can’t be worked out right then, I have my notes to visit again. This happens quite often when I am developing a new technique, or want a particular look, and keeping good notes allows me to incorporate new ideas with the old, as I am progressing with the project.

Since I retired (1998) from property management & real estate after 22 years, I have been able to devote 4-8 hours a day, to my art. The rush of ideas can be overwhelming at times, and so I usually have between 6 and 12 projects going on. I joke about the ideas floating around in my head, and say “if only I could take a picture of what I see there.” But then I wouldn’t experience the wonderful sense of accomplishment that finishing a piece gives me.


I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a few years of college art classes; free hand drawing, collage and graphic design. I am a realist, I draw what I see, and the classes helped me to develop an artist’s approach, to really see what I was looking at. Colors, shadows, dimension, etc. I find it very difficult to be abstract, and perhaps those classes hampered that aspect of my work, because I truly struggle with anything that is not in balance. I am mainly self-taught in the use of the various media that I work in. There are so many new materials available today that weren’t available years ago. So, experimenting with all of these new toys keeps me interested in a variety of things.



Would you tell us about your transitions between hobbyist and pro?
In the early days of my career, while still attending college, I was selling my class work to silk screen shops, to help pay for my art supplies. Later, I transitioned into acrylic painting and designed folk art painted crafts for the mass market. Unfortunately, it was a common occurrence back then to have your designs show up a year later, manufactured in a foreign country. This infringement forced me to take a new direction. I suppose I am one of the very few artists who transitioned from pro to hobbyist! For 12 years I expanded my talents by learning to master the aspects of; stained glass, tile mosaics, altered clothing, photography, canvas college, surface embellishments, beading, quilting, altered arts of all forms, and most recently assemblage. I have sold a few commissioned pieces of art over the past few years, but I don’t sell direct to the public anymore. Art has never been a job for me. I create as a form of relaxation and self-expression. I am a perfectionist who always strives for a professional quality and I am compulsive about art in all of its forms. I want it to the best it can be, based on my experiences, experiments and knowledge.

What are your biggest sources of inspiration?
Inspiration comes from the usual places, such as: conversations, movies, or a good book. But by keeping my eyes open to the world around me, inspiration can come from the simplest of things also. I never liked an informal weedy garden but now I find, I can really appreciate the disorganized array of color and bloom. Perhaps my art is again evolving!



What inspires you to continue when things get frustrating?
I have a mindset that will not allow me to give up. (It’s called: Compulsion!). I learn not only through my successes but especially through projects that don’t always work. I never have failures, only learning experiences.


What would you suggest for those who wish to take their your art to a higher level?
Educate yourself. Take classes, read books, study and analyze art. I can admire other artists’ art, and be inspired by what I see. For awhile I stopped analyzing art, because I thought if I didn’t allow other artists moods & methods to influence mine, I would develop my own style. I don’t think that’s true anymore. I am who I am and my art is what I am. We all bring with us different aspects of our lives into our art and that is what makes it unique from all others.



What else do you enjoy doing besides your artwork?
I could weed the garden, but mindless tasks like that, just encourage me to wander back to all of those projects waiting to be created. I love to study the ancient art of other cultures. I would have to say, this is another passion of mine, which carries a big influence on my art.


Cynthia has articles on altered couture in several issues of Belle Armoire Magazine!

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Artist: Jeanne Kent
Business name: New Terra Artifacts
Location: Windsor, CA

Website: New Terra Artifacts

Jeanne, how do you describe your work and how does it differ from other glass pieces?
I work in fused glass - making jewelry components. I prefer organic compositions of colored glass with dichroic glass for sparkling accents. To me the current craze for pieces that are all dichroic feels one dimensional and my preference has always been for the glow and shimmer of colored glass.

New Terra Artifacts has been my business name since before glass - which is a long time now. Originally it was to be a co-op including a friend who was a potter and we were going to sell “Modern Artifacts”. I’ve always thought I could use it for anything - but I like it a lot and its part of my identity now.

What is your creative process like?
Mostly I am an artist of the spontaneous type. Occasionally an idea will pop into my head while I am out somewhere and have access to pencil and paper and I’ll do a quick sketch, but mostly I go out and handle my materials and do what they seem to want me to do with them. I have a nice stereo system and loads of music of all types from heavy metal to New Age and classical, and will mix and match them according to mood. But often I will go out to work and fall into work, only to discover hours later that I never turned the music on. When I am tired I work in short bursts, going to the studio until I tire in sometimes as little as 20 minutes and then going back to the house for a while. When I am in a blitz of creative and physical energy I may spend 8 or 9 hours straight working with glass.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have no art training, but was raised by a mother who loved rocks and lapidary work and partly by an Aunt who was very creative. They both seem to have succeeded in their efforts to get me started, although at the time we didn’t realize it. I became a weaver in my late 20s and did that as a hobby, along with other fiber arts, for about 20 years. When my back got too bad to sit at a loom I took up beadwork and from there sort of fell into a very basic fusing class.

From that moment on I was sunk into glass forever. I love it as a medium. I quickly gave up making jewelry to make glass components for others to create with as the glass was too important to me and all I wanted to do was to work with it. I started making beads for an AOL bead swap and the beaders I was swapping with encouraged me to make them to sell. Once I began that and had an outlet for my work I haven’t stopped, and hope I never have to.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Glass!

What inspires you to create?
I have always had a need to be doing something productive and (hopefully) beautiful.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
Frankly, these days its the standard need for money to pay the bills. I’d probably let myself take a break now and then to recharge my energies if the month to month needs of the household bills weren’t there.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Persevere. Find something you love doing - learn it as well as you can - and keep working with it. Don’t become depressed and give up. The bad times are part of the development of the creative process and while they are different for each of us - we all have them. Your work will be better for them.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Life?

What’s your favorite hobby?
Reading. I can fall into books and forget to emerge.

Editor’s note - A tutorial featuring one of Jeanne’s beautiful V pendants can be found on the Bead Arts blog!

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Artist: Amy E. Fraser
Business Name: Exalted Beauty

Website and blog:
Amy E. Fraser
Exalted Beauty

How do you describe your work, Amy?
I would describe the Exalted Beauty Medallions as exuberant, fun and funky, boldly beautiful with a charismatic personality, just like the Exalted Beauties who wear them!

The name of my business was inspired by the beautiful women in my painting series entitled EXALTED BEAUTY. Each Exalted Beauty Medallion is an Amy E. Fraser One-Of-A-Kind Original sculpture. The medallions range in a wide variety of styles and techniques. They are hand painted with acrylic glazes or made with colored polymer clays that have been specially mixed with my *secret* formula, creating gorgeous luminescent color. Some medallions also contain added materials such as Swarovski crystals, glass, metal and seed beads, as well as archival prints (of my own work) and resin. Each Exalted Beauty Medallion collection has its own unique theme and style.

The primary goal of both my painting and jewelry has always been to create meaningful work for and about women that celebrates their inner and outer beauty: to inspire and empower women. It probably sounds corny but the medallions are my small way of trying to make a difference for womankind, one woman at a time. Each piece is unique, created as a means to celebrate individuality and to encourage self expression. I make the medallions with my friends and family in mind so each piece I present is meaningful and made with the utmost care. Many of the women who wear my medallions light up as they share the stories of the conversations the medallions started. Often it is a fleeting moment, a quick, shy comment about the medallion from a passing stranger, but sometimes it’s those unexpected positive human interactions that can really make someone’s day. Wearing an Exalted Beauty Medallion says something about the individual, it says she’s brave and adventurous and has an appreciation for art and life. Sometimes in this busy world it’s nice to be reminded that we exist to others and that we are noticed, that we matter. I can not express how much it means to me to be able to share a piece of myself with others while also doing a little something to generate a positive energy that helps to increase self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth in women.

What is your creative process like?
Since early childhood I have always been someone who *makes things*. There has never been a question to my identity as artist, nor has there been a material/medium that I have come across that I didn’t attempt to turn into art. I am eternally optimistic about bending materials to my whims and visions. My mind is in a constant state of processing emotions and visions and translating them into art. In all things I am a thinker, a philosopher, a dreamer, and a creator. Life is my creative process. I have a voracious appetite for information. Inspiration comes to me in many forms; art, art history, my wildflower meadow, my family and friends, my animals, cooking, reading, movies and walks in the woods. Mother Nature is my primary muse but anything can inspire my creative thoughts. I often imagine my brain as a giant computer that I am able to plug in as many diverse sources of inspiration as I wish and as often as possible. This constant intellectual feeding keeps my work current and continually evolving but I always remain true to myself and my personal visual language.

My physical creative process (when I actually sit down to work), happens in the wee hours of the morning while my son is asleep. I usually fit in 40-60 hours a week and most of that work time is spent in silence (with the intention of keeping my son sleeping as long as possible). With my paintings I tend to conceptualize a bit more and do a lot of sketching and reworking before I commit to a final piece. But with the jewelry I feel freer to experiment and let the subconscious take over. When starting a new medallion collection, I usually have a few guidelines, like a predetermined color palette (that I have mixed and selected based on current/seasonal fashion trends) as well as a general design concept or theme. Overall, I just allow myself to *get in the zone*, and let the medallions flow. I never know how they will turn out (until it’s too late).

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have had absolutely no formal training as a jeweler. My training is in Fine Art. I have a BFA in Illustration with a minor in Art History from Parsons School of Design as well as a Masters in Liberal Arts from Dartmouth College with an independent study focus on painting. In other words, I’m trained to think creatively with words and concepts and translate them into a 2 dimensional visual form. However, I feel that these skills easily translate to create art jewelry from a fresh perspective.

How did you transition from creating jewelry to selling jewelry?
I started my jewelry making business shortly after we moved into our new house in October of 2005. I was in the midst of working on my Exalted Beauty series when we moved. Our new house was a live in it while you build it situation so I wasn’t able to have a painting studio in the way I was previously accustomed for quite some time. Continuing the Exalted Beauty series was out of the question. One day I began digging around in the basement in the guise of *unpacking* and came across a large sampler set of polymer clay in a box of art supplies. At the time I was desperately in need of a creative outlet and still deeply immersed in the Exalted Beauty concept so it was a natural evolution for the polymer clay to become jewelry that reflected (and was inspired by the designs I created for) my Exalted Beauties. It basically just started out as an activity to keep my creative juices flowing while my son played with his play dough. That is until my Mother-In-Law stopped by and fell in love with the first batch and suggested that her co-workers would also love to buy them. And so it began. My Mother-In-Law, my friend Lynn and my husband became the first Exalted Beauty Representatives and they started having *On-The-Job-Exhibitions* for me. Other friends participated as well and pretty soon the medallions became so popular people began to request home parties. The home parties were quite successful so I continued to make collection after collection (after collection) and eventually the medallions got picked up by some retailers and I also expanded into on-line sales. A year and a half and 1,600 medallions later, I still haven’t unpacked!

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
My imagination! I don’t have a single professional jewelry or sculpting tool (not even a pasta machine).

What inspires you to create?
Everything. I have always had an abundance of ideas, combined with an obsessive drive, desire and ambition; so one has no choice but to create. I wouldn’t be me if I couldn’t express myself through art. The creation of art is what has always defined and fulfilled me.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
Art is my therapy so the more frustration I have, the more art I produce.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Keep working. Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Follow your passion. True passion will lead you in the right direction. Most importantly, do not listen to anyone who is not already successful in the field that you would like to become a success in.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
My Family. I am a full time work at home wife and mother with a 3½ year old wild monkey child and a very patient and supportive husband. We are very close so most of our free time is spent together as a family. The past few years we have invested a lot of our free time on home improvement projects. We seem to have traded *socializing* for hard labor. However, creating and designing every aspect of our house/land from the ground up has been a rewarding labor of love and something we are all very proud of.

What’s your favorite comfort food?
I think I have developed a secret fantasy of being this old fashioned grandmother type who always has something baking in the oven and has fabulous smells wafting from the kitchen. I cook roasts, create elaborate sauces and bake every week. Most of my friends are baffled by me, it’s hard for them to imagine the mighty feminist slaving over a hot stove (in fact, the image takes me by surprise as well), but cooking is another creative outlet for me and it satisfies my emotional need to create a home environment that is warm and nurturing.

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Artist: Charlene (”Cat”) Therien
Business name: C. A. Therien Polymer Clay Arts
Location: Peoria, IL, USA

Website: C. A. Therien Polymer Clay Arts

Last week, I shared some pictures of wonderful polymer clay tea caddies that you made, Cat. Now we’re going to look more at your jewelry work…how do you describe it to people?
My work is feminine and floral, with Victorian/Edwardian and Art Nouveau influences. I’ve loved flowers ever since I was a little girl, and the majority of my pieces have millefiore flowers as the main subject matter. My earliest memory connected to flowers was at six years old. I noticed my neighbor’s geraniums and was fascinated by them. All through my childhood and into adulthood, flowers consistently surfaced in my creative hobbies, whether it was watercolors, salt dough, face painting, beading, embroidery, cake decorating, etc.

What is your creative process like?
My creative process has been in a constant state of evolution. I began working with polymer clay in 2001, greatly inspired by the work of Lisa Pavelka, Sarajane Helm, Candice Matthewson, and a host of others that there just isn’t room to mention. I worked at the coffee table in my livingroom, in the evenings after the kids were tucked into bed. Initially I had the goal of making jewelry and accessories that matched my clothes. Being a homeschooling mom, we lived on a single income and I didn’t have much in the way of money to spend on myself. Clay solved that problem in a wonderful way, and I was able to make coordinating jewelry and barrettes and pins to go with my clothes. I still wear a few of those early pieces. Generally I would just pull out all my supplies and make things up as I go along.

I still do that today, making things up as I go along. I host a weekly free demo on the internet with my webcam. Generally I have a schedule for what I’ll be teaching each week, but often times the demo will take on a life of it’s own as I’m demonstrating. I’ll toss in an experiment with this or that, getting input from the demo participants. It becomes a synergetic experience and I love every minute of it. It’s a very free-flowing creative process. [Note - The details for participating in Cat's demos are on her website; just click the "Demo Schedule" link for information. The demos are open to anyone, and all you need is a computer to participate.]

When I make complex millefiore canes, though, I usually follow a diagram I’ve sketched. I’ll do that especially for the more intricate designs, like roses or cats or doves. It’s nearly impossible to get the shading to go the right directions every time, if I don’t have a plan. So I have a sketch book, that holds all my designs in one place. I also have a year-long schedule of suggested cane subjects to work from if I get stumped for subject matter. And in some cases, I’m working on cane designs that have been requested by customers.

Sometimes I get really focused and can work 8 or 10 hours at a stretch without a break. I try not to let myself do that too much, because it isn’t very balanced. But there are times when I have a deadline to meet that I allow my world to just narrow down to the project, magazine article, cane, or whatever. My studio is in my home, which has a very open floor plan and a minimum of walls. So I share studio space with three of my sons, who are still homeschooled (one is a senior and will graduate this year, while the other two are sophomore and freshman). So the family has access to me even if I’m engrossed in my clay.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I haven’t had much formal training, really. I have yet to experience a class by another polymer clay professional, although that is on my list of goals. In high school I took art courses every semester, and had a couple semesters of painting classes in junior college. But I’m a fairly quick learner, and a voracious reader, so when polymer clay captured my attention I read everything I could find on it. There is a wealth of resources, websites, and articles about using polymer clay on the internet alone. There are also books readily available and a good selection of instructional dvd’s and videos. I emailed people, asked questions, and joined a message forum, Polymer Clay Central. I experimented, shared what I made, and received a lot of encouragement. It spurred me on to keep trying new things.

About six months after I began exploring with polymer clay, I had exhausted all the free instruction on the internet and figured I’d take a class. So being naive, I assumed Michael’s would have one, and I took a few of my pieces down to the store. The Event Coordinator said they didn’t have polymer clay classes, but would I like to teach it? At the time I was shocked by the offer, but the lure of making a little money to cover my hobby won me over. So I began teaching in 2002, and just simply fell in love. I get the biggest adrenaline rush from teaching! I love the interaction with students as they go through the same process of experiment and discovery that I went through a few years prior. I learn as much from them as they do from me. I’m still teaching today, both at the local level (the Peoria Art Guild, and now the national level (I’ll be teaching two 6-hour classes at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee).

I wrote my first published tutorial article for PolymerCAFE’ Magazine in 2003. I’d always enjoyed writing, both fiction and nonfiction. So it was a natural combination for teaching, writing, and polymer clay. I’m continuing to write articles for that magazine, as it is the only magazine dedicated to the medium and I want to give it my continued support. But I’ve also branched out to other magazines this year, beginning with Bead Unique Magazine.

In the summer of 2005, I finally got serious about making polymer clay my career. I’d turned 40 years old, and my kids were growing up and independent. So the time was right, and I obtained a zoning permit and a business license. I opened an internet store on eBay, where I sell my millefiore canes. This summer, I’ll be opening up a store directly on my website, where canes, beads, and finished pieces will be available. Between the paperwork side of the business, making 4 - 8 new canes each week, writing magazine articles, making finished pieces of jewelry and beads, teaching weekly classes and web demos, and attending shows as a vendor, I put in about 60 hours a week or more. My business makes a small profit that adds to our family income, and I can still be home with my kids, so it’s the best of both worlds.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Oh yes, there are two tools that are indispensable for me. The first is a food processor. I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my wrists, and I can’t condition the clay by hand, or mix colors that way. So I put the clay into a food processor and chop the clay up into little granules. Next is where the other tool comes in: my pasta machine with motor. I press the granules of clay into a pancake that I feed through the pasta machine to blend the colors the rest of the way. Of course these tools are totally dedicated to my clay and not used for food.

What inspires you to create?
It seems like inspiration comes from everywhere. I could be in a restroom at a department store, and be inspired by the wallpaper. My husband and adult daughter are very good when it comes to design, and they often make sketches for me of jewelry or canes. Oftentimes I will get inspiration just as I’m waking up. I’m dreaming a piece, or a cane, and as soon as I wake up I have to sketch it or it will be gone. So I keep a pen and pad on my nightstand, since this is a fairly regular occurrence. I’m also inspired by the work of other hobbyists and professionals in the medium. There are just such a wealth of ideas when it comes to polymer clay that the possibility of getting bored with it is remote.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
I have a good friend, Elaine Robitaille, who is one of my whip-crackers. She is a very grounded person, and when I get whiny and don’t want to keep going, she reminds me of how much I love this work, and how much better I’ll feel after a nice nap! Usually when the work is frustrating and tough is when I have a lot on my plate, and the deadlines are piling up. My husband is my business manager as well as my biggest supporter, and he reminds me to step back and take a break when I feel like my head is going to pop off. My daughter is good at this too, and she’ll pull me away from it to go shopping, go out to eat, watch a movie, go for a walk, or whatever. Generally I can come back to work with a good attitude and a fresh layer of energy the next morning.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
I talk about rising in the level of artistry in my classes regularly. Professional presentation, a high-quality product, and investment of your time, energy, and money are prongs in the setting of any good art business. I’ve learned that artists generally have little business sense, myself included, and even though our product may be of the highest caliber, we lack the ability to promote ourselves, to direct the business in a way that will make it grow. A few people in my life have taken me by the hand (literally handlers), and have given me direction and instruction on how to pursue both the excellence in my artwork and the management of the business end. I could never do this without them, as they put into my life the things that are lacking.

For anyone who is interested in seriously pursuing polymer clay as their medium of choice, whether at the hobby level or the professional level, I would pay close attention to perfecting technique. The three P’s are indispensable: Practice, Practice, Practice! Paying close attention to finishing and detail, and striving toward making every piece as close to perfection as you can, will raise your level of work. But it is just that - work. It takes time dedicated to the three P’s to really advance with any medium.

I highly recommend networking with other artists in your medium. Is there a guild in your city? Join it! Many cities have polymer clay guilds, and there is a US national guild as well. Join a message board on the internet - many instant message and blog services have message boards and groups dedicated to a specific medium. I recommend Polymer Clay Central as an excellent place to connect with other polymer clay hobbyists and professionals from around the world.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
My family is a very close, affectionate one and we enjoy spending time together. We play board games, watch movies, tussle and tickle and chase. It’s a joy to be around our kids and we do a lot of things together. In the warmer months we love to go hiking, fishing and camping. We have a table tennis and dart board at home, and sometimes we’ll have impromptu tournaments against each other. We have a re-emerging interest in golf, and we’re lucky enough to have a public golf course less than 1/4 mile from our house. We do crazy things together - watching ballroom dance instructional videos in the livingroom and taking turns dancing with each other. I think sometimes people are a little intimidated by us, because we’re kind of loud and it seems like chaos reigns. But if I had the chance to do it all over again, I’d choose this life without a doubt.

Cat Therien

What are some of your favorite things outside of art and family, Cat?
My favorite foods are oriental. I love sushi, General Tso, orange, and sesame chicken, and I love a good, homemade hot-&-sour soup. I have to be careful about what I eat - I’m on Weight Watchers, and plan on staying with that program the rest of my life. I’ve been participating in it since October 2006, have dropped 2 sizes, and have seen a pretty radical change in my life. I’m replacing bad habits with new ones, and learning that an old (or middle aged) dog can certainly learn healthier tricks! Since most of my day is spent sitting in an office chair in my studio, I work out 5 days a week at a Curves nearby and walk whenever I get the chance.

I love to read, but I have a hard time with a good book - no discipline! If I’m into a really good book, I might read until 2 am, and I have to be up at 6 or 7. So I am working on building some control over my book addiction (with mixed results). My favorite genres are cozy murder mysteries, fantasy, and science fiction. Some of my favorite authors are Agatha Christie, Joanne Fluke, David Eddings, and Issac Asimov.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, polymer-clay, artist-profile

Artist: Lori Greenberg
Location: Cave Creek, Arizona

Website & Blog:
Lori Greenberg
Bead Nerd

How do you describe your work, Lori?
The tagline on my web site is “defying the ordinary”. I like to make pieces that are different than anything else you see out there and will keep you coming back to see what I’m up to next. Beads that make you want to look deeper into them or make you wonder, “How did she do that?”

I originally named my business “Bead Nerd” because that is what my husband called me when I’d be obsessively trying to learn about beads and the making of them. While looking at other beadmakers’ work I realized that I was getting to know business names but cound not remember who the actual artist was. I decide that I’d rather be known by my name than Bead Nerd so I transitioned into using my name for my business name. I still use the title Bead Nerd on my blog though because it does fit me and how I go about everything glass bead related.

What is your creative process like?
Many of my ideas come when I’m doing production work and my brain is free to wander. I cannot draw to save my life but I am constantly jotting down little notes with ideas and rough sketches. Unfortunately, I often forget to go back to them but it’s at those times that the ideas are flowing that something starts to form in my head. Up until now I’ve just made what I have felt like making and it has been good. But as I build a business and a client base, more is expected of me and I am already starting to think about next years show line and being able to show customers something new and fresh. I find that the designing process is not very enjoyable for me but I know the end results always are.

My creative process is passive. That is, if I listen to what’s inside and am obedient to that, things flow and I know what to make without a struggle. When it starts to feel like a struggle I know I’m starting to veer off the path and I need to sit back again and listen…”What do I really want to be making?” rather than, “What do I think people will want to buy?”

Right now I am making bold round beads with colorful dots and I can’t believe it. (I say that a lot because it’s almost like I don’t have control over what I make). I do not like dots. I do not like bright colors. I am known for making pressed shaped beads. So I fought it and struggled and tried to come up with something my brain was designing and it got to be so frustrating I finally said FINE! I’ll make the dang dotted round beads! And now I love them.

Music is a big part of my day in the studio and I often listen to talk programs on XM Satellite Radio’s NPR Station. I love the morning programs because they’re quirky and interesting, often about artists or people who think differently than the norm, and that inspires me to not always try to run with the pack. As for music, I’m all over the board. It depends what I need to get done that day. I listen to everything from techno jazz to country to world music and, I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but lately I’ve been listening to heavy metal. Really loud. Just like my creative process, I just have to listen to what’s inside and I’ll know what I need that day. Sometimes it’s a driving beat, sometimes it’s hokey disco dance musc.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
If any training was influential in my life it would have to be a high school teacher that I had. Mrs. Stelton. Boy, she and her husband were quite a pair and they definitely marched to the beat of a different drum. I look back and think about everything they taught us about art and architecture but also about different cultures and their art and practices. They even had a gourmet club where a group of us would go into the city (Chicago) to some really funky ethnic restaurants and eat things we’d never heard of. They taught me to be open-minded and diverse. I guess my whole high school was big on teaching kids to be individuals and not conform.

I have a couple degrees, one of them even in art, but nothing that compares to what I learned in high school.

I went from being a hobbyist to a professional in one day. I realized that I was being paid $12 an hour for a job that required a masters degree and they treated their people awfully. Some conflict came up where they demanded just one thing too many without any additional compensation and my boyfriend (later to become husband) told me, “just quit”. So I did. That was uncharacteristic of the practical me, I mean, wouldn’t just walking out look bad on a resume? But I knew it was the right thing at the time. I watched my husband and friends being successfully self-employed and they really helped me start to think differently about this whole work thing.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
You know, the more I get into this the more I find that I can make pretty nice pieces with very little. Of course you need a kiln, torch and fuel/oxygen source but other than that, a few marvers and some tweezers and I’m good. I do have to say that I love my GTT Lynx torch. I worked on a different torch last summer and nothing compares. Nothing. I also do love my XM radio.

Something I can’t imagine living without is my web site shopping cart from Pappashop.com. I can’t believe how much time I save now that I’m not coding my site manually. Wow.

What inspires you to create?
I get cranky if I don’t create. That and there is just this drive that I can’t get away from. I can’t really explain that one.

I am most inspired by people and their stories. I don’t know if I would call it inspiring but how people interact is an influence on me too. It is such a creative dance and is just interesting. That is the counselor in me. If you take the time to get to know someone or just listen to them for a little bit you learn so much. Everyone has something to say that is interesting if you open your mind and start to view the world as being interesting. Kate Drew-Wilkinson taught me that…look at the world differently. It’s amazing how your life can change if you change the way you see things. I only wish I had the skill to sculpt in glass how I see things. I’m starting to try and transition my perceptions into my art more.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
This is another area that just comes from within. When things are frustrating it is a good exercise in realizing that some things in life are just frustrating and it’s ok. But then I have to think, am I going to give in and be beaten or am I going to go with the flow until it passes? It’s
important to remember that it always passes and if you fight against it, it only gets worse.

If it does persist I will try and figure out why. Is it just time for a vacation? Do I need to get a massage? Is there something hanging over my head that I need to complete before I can move forward? It’s kind of fun to figure it out and feels like a victory when you come out the other side.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
If you are really serious, learn to listen to what is inside of you. I believe that whatever your spiritual practice is, that is where your answer is. Get in there and find it.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Blogging, marketing and business-related issues, of course. I absolutely love blogging and I love some aspects of marketing just as much. It’s time consuming but it’s actually a creative process too, if you let it be. It’s that whole seeing the world differently game. I love coming up with marketing ideas or new venues that I don’t see anyone else doing.

What’s your favorite comfort food?
I love Korean and Indian food. Really, anything ethnic is a hit with me.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, lampwork, artist-profile,

Artist: Heather Powers
Business name: Humblebeads
Location: San Antonio, TX

Website & Blog:
Humblebeads
Humblebeads blog

How do you describe your work, Heather? And how did you happen to pick the name “Humblebeads”?
My work is primarly handcrafted art beads inspired by the colors and textures of nature. I love earthy hues and organic designs. I do have a line of one-of-a-kind jewelry that I sell to a local gallery and at holiday shows. I’d say my beads and jewelry could adorn Mother Nature herself.

The name of my business is humblebeads because of the humble status of polymer clay as an artist’s medium.

Monet beads

What is your creative process like?
My creative process goes in two directions. The first is sketching. My two favorite sources of inspiration are nature and art history. I love looking at paintings from my favorite artists and incorporating their color palette or designs into my beads. After I’ve sketched out some designs I head to my studio. I start by mixing up a custom palette of colors. Sometimes I’ll flip through clothes catalogs or look at color trend charts for new shades. I’ll create a series of canes, which are long skinny tubes of designs that I cut off in paper thin slices and apply to on my beads. The sketches are a jumping off point, but sometimes happy accidents occur at the bead table. I will generally make beads for hours at a time. Each day I like to make beads for at least 4 hours, sometimes it’s more like 8 when the orders are pouring in. When I’m creating jewelry, I sometimes go by a sketch. More often, I’ll just sit down with my beads and see what happens.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I studied fine art in college and took small business courses. I knew when I graduated that I wanted to work for myself. The one class I’m most thankful for would be the color class I took my first year in art school. My beads are all about color. I’m a self-taught bead artist, learning mostly from books and magazines for the basic techniques. I spend a lot of time in my studio experimenting, coming up with my own designs and techniques. When I started to transition from focusing on selling jewelry with my handcrafted beads to selling just the beads I experimented with online auctions to see what customers liked. After a while, I started selling beads in my most popular styles and colors on my website. Sending work into magazines was really the start of my professional career as a bead artist. Also joining a group of professional bead artists and networking with them has been a tremendous help to me. They have been a great source of inspiration and information as my business has grown.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Definitely my pasta machine. I couldn’t make beads without it!

What inspires you to create?
Creating beautiful objects to share with others is my inspiration to create on a daily basis.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
A call to my mom, bead artist Beverly Herman, usually does the trick when I’m feeling overwhelmed! Connecting with others and knowing I’m not alone on my creative journey is a great deal of inspiration to me.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
I would say discover your own visual language. Find what images and symbols inspire you and let that be the starting point of your own creative process. Never copy, learn from others and translate basic techniques into something new. Also experiment, try new techniques or other mediums, you’ll grow as an artist. Always be willing to take risks and follow your own path.

Klimt beads

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Well, I’m a work-at-home mom with two girls so that takes up a big part of each day! Professionally, when I’m not busy making beads, I’m working on our next bead cruise or pursuing my dream of illustrating for children’s books.

What do you do to relax?
I like to play with fibers - needle-felting, bead embroidery, bead crochet, knitting, and recently sewing.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, polymer-clay, artist-profile

Artist: Leah Hitchcock-Ybarra
Business name: Michon
Location: Berkeley, CA

Website & Blogs:
Michon Designs

Michon Design blog
LeahMichon on myspace
365 Pendants
Michon on Etsy

How do you describe your work, Leah?
My work is very freeform and has often been described as “organic”. I love pearls and flowing designs that have a natural looking assymetry. I would say my signature style is freeform pendants made from silver and pearls, but I also like to experiment with different materials and techniques. Besides pearls, I use a variety of semiprecious stones in my work, and I have a line of resin pendants with found objects embedded in them, as well as a line of picture pendants that incorporate images from my husband, Chris Ybarra’s, acrylic paintings. I chose Michon as my business name because it’s my middle name, and I’ve always liked it. I think I had named my business before I was even sure I wanted to have a jewelry business.

What is your creative process like?
Most of the time, my creative process starts with the materials. I’ll take a piece of silver and form it, then find the perfect pearl or stone to complement the shape. Sometimes it’s the other way around - I’ll have some beads out on my table and come up with a nice metal shape to show off the beads. I’ve collected beads, rocks, and shells as long as I can remember, and I love just looking at them and arranging them in different ways.

When I’m in a very creative mood, I can work for hours without really thinking about anything else, so I try to take advantage of those times. If I’m feeling less creative, I’ll work on production - making some of my simpler designs, or a bunch of earwires or head pins. I try to work a little bit every day, even if I’m not feeling creative, because sometimes the act of getting out some materials will jumpstart my creativity.

I do sketch sometimes, usually if I’m away from my materials and I get an idea that I think is good. I carry a small notebook in my purse so that I can jot down ideas whenever they come to me. I also have one by my bed for brainstorming before going to sleep or first thing in the morning.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I take jewelry making classes occasionally - I started with beading classes as a teenager, then took a basic wire class, and since then I’ve taken basic metalsmithing and some mixed media jewelry classes. Classes are very useful for learning techniques, and I especially recommend them for anyone who wants to start using torches, chemicals, and power tools. It’s good to learn proper safety measures from a pro.

I haven’t taken any design classes - design is something that I learned gradually from experimenting on my own. Most classes that I find focus on a project and the techniques needed to complete that project. I like to take what I’ve learned from a class and then see what I can come up with to use the technique in a different way.

I have no formal business training, so I’ve learned the hard way about how to run a business and make it profitable. After starting my business, and not making any money at first, I bought a couple of marketing and business books and read all I could online about being a successful entrepreneur. Running a business is a lot of work, much more than I expected when I got started. Today, my business is part time but profitable. I’ve learned through experience how to price my work, places to sell it, how to network locally and do local shows, and how to spend my money so that I’m not wasting all my profits on supplies or tools that I won’t use.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Pearls. I don’t know of anything more beautiful, to me anyway, than pearls. If I didn’t know how to make jewelry, I’d probably carry them around in my pockets to look at.

What inspires you to create?
The ocean, the desert, trees, creative people, art, architecture, vines, shapes, color, texture, my husband, rivers, pretty shiny things, fire, rivers….inspiration is everywhere.

A few jewelers who inspired me when I first started making jewelry are Michael Good and Arline Fisch. Michael good does these gorgeous flowing designs using anticlastic raising techniques. Arline Fisch uses textile techniques with metal sheet and wire, and makes really wild jewelry with those technqiues. Now that I’ve been making jewelry for a few years, I’ve discovered many other amazingly talented jewelry designers, but those two were the first that really made me want to make jewelry.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
I think I’m one of those people who likes a challenge. I have my share of motivation problems and frustrations, but then I think “so-and-so did this, I can do it too.” And I mentally yell at myself to get over it and quit being so lazy, which usually works. I’m definitely better at motivating myself to do the creative work than the business aspects of it though!

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Do something creative every day. Even if you only have a few minutes, write in a journal about things you’d like to create, or sketch something.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
My day job, sleep, and my marriage/social life. Luckily I’m married to an artist, so we spend a lot of time in the studio together.

What’s your favorite comfort food? (Or book, or color, or other hobby…)
Cheese, or chocolate. My comfort hobby is knitting/crocheting. Knit and crochet projects take so much time, and are very repetitive/meditative, which helps me slow down.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, creativity, designing

Mary of Burgundy, created for Beading for a Cure

Artist: Dulcey Heller
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Websites:
Dulcey Heller’s Beadwork
Buy the Kit

Rubber Gaskets Bracelet
Published in the June/July 2006 Beadwork

Dulcey, would you tell us how you describe your work?
My work is mostly driven by shapes, and to a lesser extent, colors, of things I observe. I am most interested in creating interesting shapes, and finding the seed bead technique that will give me the result I want. For example, I wanted to modify herringbone to get a different profile of the stitch, so I experimented to get the points of the seedpod set and the cuff bracelet that I sell on Buy The Kit. I recently made a mushroom, and it was a combination of peyote, herringbone, and brick stitch that resulted in the shape that I want. I’m still trying to figure out how to get a smooth, controlled, increasing, self-supporting, three-dimensional curve that I really like….

What is your creative process like?
My creative process mostly begins with an idea of a shape. Sitting on my work table right now are some rose montees and a drawing of a Celtic knot-inspired border. I’d like to get the two to meet in a necklace; keeping the diagonal slant of the knot will require modification since I
work with thread and not wire.

A recent piece reveals the extent to which I will go: for a swap of small beaded hearts for Valentine’s Day, I started with a picture I found of Pakistani embroidery that I used for both motif inspiration and colors. Then I learned that the national language of Pakistan is Urdu, and how to draw “mohabbat” (love) in script. I made the arches of heart pointed, to reflect the arches often seen in architecture of the area. I am a web-surfing librarian in my day job — it helps. I usually don’t go quite this far!

For a fun piece I entered in the 2005 Minnesota State Fair, I brought home the stick from a giant pickle-on-a-stick that I had eaten at the 2004 Fair, and then recreated a beaded pickle with right angle weave over a form on that stick. It greatly amused the judge, even though he thought it was a corndog totally covered in mustard.

My beaded figure that I made for Interweave’s Beaded Figure was first inspired by a beautiful French bead that is a milky white, reminiscent of marble. Then I went to the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts to figure out stances for Ancient Roman statues. I decided one arm should be partial to reflect the damage often seen in these statues.

If Ancient Romans used beads
Displayed in The Beaded Figure show

Mostly, I work in small chunks of time towards any project, small or large. I keep lists and rough sketches, take pictures of all sorts of things for inspiration, and then try to assign myself working time. I have more things to do than can possibly be done, so I make lists for each month of 3 or so items related to my beadwork, whether it’s writing an article, planning a larger project, or actually doing the project. I try to give myself at least a few minutes of “bead appreciation” time daily, so that I can at least play with combinations of color even if I’m not picking up a needle.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have learned technique mostly from reading instructions in books and magazines. I have been fortunate to take two week-long Split Rock Arts programs through the University of Minnesota. The first was with Joyce Scott, and the second was with David Chatt. I learned so much from both of them, both are excellent and enjoyable teachers. Beyond learning about their techniques, sculptural peyote and right angle weave, respectively, I learned about the working life of an artist. How to present a piece for judging, for example. Or valuing a piece. Setting aside studio time to work. Things like that.

Pearl Beaded Bottle

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
I have a lot of thread. A LOT of thread. An embarrassing amount of thread! Seed beads are the mainstay of my work, so I have those too, of course.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
I’ve tried a variety of methods. That smooth, increasing, three-dimensional curve? I’ve given that one at least a dozen attempts, it’s now set aside until new method inspiration strikes. I tend to like to bead my own designs. Sometimes it’s relaxing and rejuvenating to bead someone else’s design, then I can just enjoy the process, and appreciate someone else’s hard work. Also, I’m an advocate for finding inspiration in other mediums — going to a museum, reading coffee table books, enjoying the local nature center.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
The best idea can’t be fully realized until your technique is immaculate. Good craftsmanship and finishing is essential. Ask for and accept constructive criticism.

Beaded Cockroach

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
I am married with school-age children, so family is where I happily spend an important amount of my time. I also am a public librarian, with my hours averaging about half-time. I also read voraciously.

What’s your favorite comfort food?
Beyond family, beading, and reading, I like to cook a fairly wide variety of foods; I bake our bread. Family, food, beads, and books. Good stuff!

beads, beading, bead-weaving, creativity, designing, artist-profile

Artist: Margaux Lange
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Website & Blog:
Margaux Lange
Midge’s Mind

Margaux, would you describe your work for us?
My Plastic Body Series is art jewelry made with sterling silver, Barbie dolls and epoxy resin. It is an examination and celebration of my own, as well as our culture’s, relationship with Barbie.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I was first introduced to jewelry making in my high school (Lake George, NY) which was and still is, very fortunate to offer jewelry courses to its students. I’ve been a studio jeweler for the past six years since graduating college (The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD May 2001) I was a General Fine Arts major and took a variety of courses in various mediums until I decided to concentrate on jewelry. For me jewelry was a way of getting art off the wall and on to the body so it could be shared, experienced and quite literally felt.

After college I took an epoxy resin workshop with art jeweler Susan Kasson Sloan at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts that forever changed the techniques I utilize in my metalwork and has enabled all sorts of exploration with color.

While it is my fine art background that has given me the foundation necessary for conceptual exploration in my jewelry work, it is personal experience (i.e.: my childhood spent obsessed with Barbie and her miniature world) that I credit for the success of this series. Barbie was immensely important in fueling my creative life as a child, not to mention developing my nimble hands and dexterity, skills imperative to the art of jewelry making. I love that what I adored as a child has become the focus of my career as an adult.

How did you first get the idea to make jewelry out of Barbie dolls?
Barbie made her debut in my artwork in high school. I once did a project where I took a bunch of Barbie dolls and delicately painted on their plastic bodies, transforming each of them to look like something else. One was made into a carrot, another a zebra, etc. I even painted one with a suit and tie, a beard and a moustache to look like a man. Later in college I did a series of drawings: self-portraits of myself holding Barbie dolls, balancing her on my head, sitting her on my shoulder, in a sense wearing her. I was interested in combining alternative materials and/or found objects into my metalwork so it was really only a matter of time before she became a part of my jewelry.

Jewelry seemed the best form for my art in exploring the subjects I was interested in. It made sense to address issues involving women and the body through jewelry, (a form of adornment predominantly associated with females) using Barbie, the ultimate female icon. The queen of accessorizing became the accessory!

What is your creative process like? How do you go about designing a piece?
Sometimes there’s a storyline to my pieces and I’ll have a particular idea I wish to explore (depending on the doll parts being used) and that will serve as the concept that shapes the piece. Other times it’s purely about design and arranging shapes and patterns within multiple elements. And sometimes it’s both, where I start out with a pattern or design in mind and by the end a concept has evolved. My design process varies a lot from piece to piece.

Do you work for twelve hours straight or in smaller chunks of time over the course of several days? What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
I usually tend to work in smaller time segments throughout the week but aim for at least 15-20 studio hours total per week. The business end of my jewelry ends up requiring a lot more time away from my studio than I ever imagined it would: spending time on the computer with emails, my website, blog, etc.

I also currently have part-time outside employment as well to help make ends meet. Unfortunately at this point in my career it’s a necessity but I’m confident that it won’t always be. That’s what I’m working towards: successfully making a living off my art!

Do you like music or silence while you work?
I love listening to music while I work as well as This American Life and other podcasts and public radio programs.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Barbie and Ken!

What inspires you to create?
Humans are especially what inspire me to create. Bodies. Faces. Popular culture. Barbie. And other artists and art jewelers who make fabulous work. I’m drawn to art that employs multiples of something, patterns, work that plays with our sense of scale and art made out of found, unexpected or unusual materials.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
The people who appreciate and support my work are what keep me going through the tough times. It’s important to have a support system. I’m very fortunate to have a few amazingly supportive artist friends. Also, when I get emails from people saying how much they love my jewelry or share stories of their Barbie experiences, I feel such a sense of accomplishment and it reminds me of what I love about art: it’s ability to connect on a personal level.

One of the biggest joys for me has been the way others receive my jewelry. It continues to amaze me the range of responses I get regarding what I do with Barbie. Some people respond to its humor and wit and think it’s pure fun, or it feeds a sense of nostalgia for them. Others weigh in on the feminist edge and relate to its statement. Some are creeped out and think it’s dark and disturbing to see “body parts” cut up. Others think it’s just simply bizarre. I love that everyone brings his or her own baggage and reaction to the work, indicative of their own relationship with, or feelings about, the iconic plastic princess as well as what defines “wearable jewelry.” One of my biggest goals has been to create art that people can relate to. I believe I’ve been successful with this.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Pay attention to your “voice.” Everyone has one that is uniquely their own and it’s hard to uncover at times. (Especially with the influence of teachers, mentors, fellow artists, friends, or family who sometimes offer resistance or persuade you away from your own true voice or vision.) Strive to unearth not only your personal strengths and talents but also that which gives you a deep sense of satisfaction and you will find yourself excelling naturally.

Also, and this is hugely important, surround yourself with positive people: those who support and encourage you to do what you love. It can be painful and difficult to weed out those who bring you down, but sometimes it’s crucial to your personal and professional growth.

What’s your favorite comfort food?
Ice cream, hands down. The obsession runs in my family. I come from a long line of females who depend on its frozen goodness for our sanity!

Do you have any other favorite hobby?
Writing: journal writing, and most recently blogging. Writing helps me to understand myself better.

I’m sure that all of our readers join with me in believing that Margaux will certainly be able to fulfill her dream of doing her art full-time very soon! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us!

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Artist: Wendy Van Camp
Location: Yorba Linda, CA
Website & Blog: Indigoskye Bead Fashions

Wendy, how do you describe your work?
I am a jewelry artist. I wire wrap semi-precious stones and handmade
art glass into women’s jewelry. My designs are unique but simple,
jewelry that everyone can wear.

When I was searching for a business name, I knew that I wanted to
include the word “bead” in it since back then the search engines put
much weight in the name of a webpage or a business. I also wanted a
word that would be unique to me so that if people were googling me, it
would be easy to find me. So I took two email handles that I was using
at the time, indigo and skye, and put them together. The blue skies
connotation seems to put a smile on my customer’s faces and the name
stuck. I even answer to indigo or indigoskye on occasion!

What is your creative process like?
I start by going through my stash of stones and picking out combinations
that appeal to me. Then I just put them together. Sometimes I start
with a wire technique that I want to use and then put it with my stones
until a design emerges that I find pleasing. I never write anything down
or plan…whatever flows from my pliers is what I make.

I sometimes play music, but usually I put cooking and gardening shows on the TV and let it play in the background. If a good recipe pops up, I
stop and watch for a few minutes and then get back to work! I tend to
work in small chunks of time and alternate my tasks. An hour or two on
the computer for marketing or minding online sales, an hour or two with
the pliers, an hour or two at tending to the house or running household
errands. The only time that I am focused on jewelry for a long period
of time is when I’m in my booth at a venue, and then it is jewelry for a
good 6 to 8 hours at a time since I tend to make things in my booth in
between sales or make custom orders in the night.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
The only design training I had was as a florist wannabe. I was the
co-host of a television program on flower arranging. The program was
the florist teaching the viewers how to be a flower arranger and it was
my job to ask questions to prompt him into the next step in a natural
manner and to assist with the flower arranging as the cameras rolled.
Over the course of a year or two of production, I learned many design
concepts from this man and later discovered that many of the principals
of flower arranging also hold true in jewelry making. At the time, I
didn’t do crafts at all. I was too busy teaching high school English
during the day and doing television production at night and on weekends.

I took up jewelry for the first time during my wedding preparations. I
made my own bridal veil and the jewelry for my bridesmaids in order to
save money on our wedding. I enjoyed the jewelry making and decided to sell it part-time after the wedding. I found that jewelry got busy
during TV production’s slow time so the two professions merged together
well time wise. However, as the years went on and I started to do
bigger jewelry venues, I discovered that jewelry was more profitable to
me than freelance TV production and I started to concentrate more of my
time there. I still like production and writing, but now production is
more my hobby and jewelry my profession, the exact opposite of what it
was a decade ago.

Currently, after eleven years of selling my jewelry on the festival
circuit, I am starting to take formal lessons in jewelry making. My
favorite instructor is Connie Fox and I am simply in love with Eni
Oken’s wire wrapping tutorials. I am also taking fabrication lessons
via CD produced by an instructor named Don Norris. I’m not sure what my jewelry is going to morph into, but it has been an exciting time for me. I am grateful to these instructors for sharing their time and expertise
with me.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
My hands, eyes and my heart. Everything else is replaceable.

What inspires you to create?
Either you are an artist and MUST create, or you are not. Inspiration
comes from everything around me in the world and from within.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
There are times when I feel blue about jewelry making. When I have a
bad show and barely break even, when I apply to venues I would dearly
love to enter and am told “no jewelry need apply” or have people come
into my booth and try to tell me how to run my business. Sometimes
being alone with only my dog for company in the studio can press in on
me too. I wonder what the heck am I doing with my life. It is then that
I ask myself, is there a single profession on the planet when you don’t
have days like this? I don’t think that anyone has it easy out there. I
just remind myself that overall I love being my own boss, making my own destiny and creating things that bring a smile to people’s faces. If that is not enough, what is?

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Be willing to take risks. Find a mentor to help you figure out what
reasonable goals to set for yourself. Ask questions and be willing to
listen. Take lessons and improve your technical skills.

So that we’ll know a little more about you personally, what takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Gardening and cooking. I grow exotic hot chile peppers and use them to
make powders for my cooking and I spend time tending my roses. I love
to provide homemade meals from scratch to my husband. Most of my meals take an hour or two to cook so I spend a lot of afternoon time in the kitchen.

And Wendy, what’s your favorite comfort food?!
My favorite comfort food is just about anything that can come out of a
crockpot. Crockpot cooking is one of my favorite methods since it is
one of the healthiest and easiest ways to cook.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, artist-profile