Bead Arts

I’ve become a magazine hog! Those of you who frequent online forums know the term “thread hog”…well, this is the magazine equivalent, I guess. There are three of my articles in the newest issue of Jewelry Crafts magazine.

The first piece is one that I made in collaboration with my friend Amy Fraser. You can read more about Amy’s art in the artist profile that she wrote for me. Check out Jewelry Crafts for the instructions to make one of these mixed media necklaces.

Passion Flower

The second piece was made from beads that my sister-in-law brought back for me from Kenya! The article shows you how to do the simple stringing on cord.

Ethiopian Cross

And the last article exlains how to paint muslin to create a neck full of fabric beads like these!

Spring Fling

P.S. There are also some wonderful articles by regular contributors Rebekah Wills, Carole Rogers, and Judy Atwell, plus more

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

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.

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

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

Tammy Powley’s newest book is now available! I got my copy late last week from the publisher, since I’ve got a project in it. I think it’s a wonderful guide to getting started in mixed media jewelry. The subtitle says this: “Fun and experimental techniques and materials for the home studio”

That’s just what it delivers! There are also beautiful pieces included in the gallery section that will inspire even the experienced mixed media artist to try new things. I am really proud to have my name and my work associated with this book.

Making Designer Mixed Media & Memory Jewelry

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

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,

Help, help! I know nothing about formal design theory! What do balance, unity, line, color, movement, and contrast have to do with making jewelry?

Don’t despair. If you don’t have time or funds for a college-level course on design, check out some of the best the web has to offer:

Informational Articles on Design:

Formal Visual Analysis
A good introductory article by Jeremy Glatstein on the elements and principals of composition.

Art, Design, and Visual Thinking
An entire online design course by Charlotte Jirousek.

Common Questions on Design
By Sara Sanford, written for Lapidary Journal.

50 Ways to Become a Better Designer
Tips supplied by various artists.

The Color Wheel and Itten’s Color Theory

Best Books on Design

Jewelry Design Tools:

Virtual Beadboard
A beading project design tool.

Swarovski Crystal Design Board
Especially good for calculating the numbers.

Intelligirl Jewelry Maker
Designed specifically for kids, but may still be useful for simple designs.

Interactive Beadwork Designer
For loomwork, especially Native American patterns.

Color Tools
One of my previous posts.

Gallery of Design Ideas
By Fire Mountain Gems for when you need some inspiration.

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

Often times, the jewelry pieces that I admire most are the ones that use the artist’s own handmade beads. Nothing else will ever be exactly like that piece.

If you want to make true one-of-a-kinds, you should probably think about learning to make your own beads and findings. We’ll just cover the beads today. Here’s a list of links to sites that cover lampworking, clay, paper, wire, and much more!

Lampworking ~ the allure of the flame

Schermobeads
An excellently photographed introduction to the steps involved in making lampworked beads.

Frequently Asked Questions
All kinds of information about hot glass.

Making Glass Beads by Cindy Jenkins
Beads that are multicolored, grooved, feathered or foiled, and decorated with spots, dots, eyes, and stripes: no matter which of these designs in glass you choose, the results will be beautiful. Detailed instructions and magnificent photos, along with scores of valuable tips and tricks, guide you through an awesome array of techniques, making this the best guide to glass beading ever.

Polymer ~ let’s play with clay

Polymer Clay Central
Lessons, projects, and instructions from some of the finest polymer artists, all gathered in one place.

Beads By Hand
Clay beads and more!

The Polymer Clayspot
Frequently asked questions about what it is and how to use it.

Making Polymer Clay Beads by Carol Blackburn
A comprehensive introduction to making beads from polymer clay that also provides inspiration, demonstrates the range of effects that can be achieved, and teaches how to incorporate these beads into jewelry designs.

The New Clay by Nan Roche
This book has been around a while, and for a good reason. It’s one of the best books for learning polymer clay techniques like millefiori and bead making.

Paper or Cloth Beads ~ rollin’, rollin’, rollin’…

Partz Paper Beads
How to make them, and what to do with them once you have!

Cloth Roll-Up Beads
Louise Duhamel shares her technique.

Creating Extraordinary Beads from Ordinary Material by Tina Casey
It is possible to make colorful beads of one’s own from craft materials. Casey’s beads are often humorous items made from glued strips of cloth, yarn, or paper and finished off with clear nail polish.

All wired up and no place to go

Wig Jig Wire Beads
A few lessons and many supplies for making twisted wire beads.

Make Wire Beads by Lisa Van Herik
Concise and detailed how-to instructions for making a wide variety of different wire beads. All 44 beads in this book are fully illustrated both in color and black and white and along with the individual instructions.

PMC ~ squishing silver and gold?

PMC and Art Clay Silver
An online manual for success with the new precious metal clays.

Making metal beads
Register with the ArtJewelry site and receive a free download of Nanz Aalund’s tutorial.

The Art of Metal Clay by Sherri Haab
Artist and instructor Sherri Haab demonstrates metal clay’s remarkable versatility, showing how it can be textured, molded, carved, and sculpted to create gorgeous beads.

Metal Clay Magic by Nana Mizushima
Packed with color photos showing each step of working with metal clay. Covers more than just beads, but has lots of techniques that can be used in making beads.

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

Have you ever sat down and really thought through how you go about the process of designing a new piece from scratch? I’ve thought about it from time to time, and although my exact methods change, I did manage to come up with a couple of main points that stay constant:

1 I need to have tons of stuff readily available to be able to fantasize freely.

2 Although I have files and files of ideas to look to for inspiration, I find that I generally start with a classic idea or pattern and try to give it my own personal twist.

3 I alternate between bead-embroidery, freeform, assemblage, and lampwork. It doesn’t matter to me what the style of piece I’m designing, it’s always my goal to do something with it that puts my personal stamp on it.

4 I use a lot of cross-over ideas from other art forms and from completely different disciplines.

I think that the idea of a frequent “artist date”, as popularized by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way, is an excellent idea. You can’t refill the well when it runs dry if you are not seeking out new springs of water. For a daily dose of mixed media inspiration, I would also suggest subscribing to blogs that cover different topics that interest you besides just beading. My friend Derek has a blog called Craft Videos that collects clips on all different types of craft production. And I could also recommend my own mixed media blog, Layers Upon Layers, where we look at everything under the sun.

So, do you have design tips that you’d like to share? What process do you go through, or does it vary every time? I’d love to hear about it!

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

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

I just received my copy of this wonderful new book by Sandra Wallace because…two of my pieces are in it!! Besides explaining how to actually use color theory in beading, this book provides 200 color schemes that are illustrated by actual jewelry and beadwork pieces. One of mine falls into the “vivid and bright” category, and one into the “subtle and moody” group. Yup, that’s me…a split personality! Anyway, here they are:

Magic Carpet

Rock Candy

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

Color is important to every artist, but as a bead or jewelry artist, you probably haven’t been classically trained like a painter would be. Not to fear! There are a plethora of wonderful online sources to help you learn the terminology on your own and to teach you how to train your eye. Here are some of the best:

Informational Articles on Color:

The Color Wheel and Itten’s Color Theory

Brown University’s Color Theory Course

Margie Deeb’s Color Articles

Best Books on Color

Color Scheme Tools:

WellStyled
Tool is designed primarily for web designers but useful for anyone.

Steel Dolphin
Designed with the digital artist in mind.

ColorBlender
A fun to use tool with sliders.

Daily Color Scheme
For a bit of serendipity!

ColourLovers
An entire community just for color lovers.

Color Picker from Adobe
Pick your own or examine what others have done.

Color Schemer Online
Picks a group of colors that compliment your original color choice.

Pic2Color
Creates a color palette from any image that you feed into it.

Eni Oken’s color scheme software
You can download her software free!

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

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

Making Designer Mixed Media & Memory Jewelry

Tammy Powley’s newest book is ready for pre-orders at Amazon. I can’t wait to see this one…just look at that gorgeous necklace on the cover!

One of my projects made it into the book as well, my recycled jewelry pins. Not that you can really see it, but the second small photo from the bottom on the left side of the cover is one of them Here’s a close-up of that one…

…and the others two that were included

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