Bead Arts

For those who pay attention when planning their spring jewelry line. Pantone’s report can be found here.

“According to the report, the spring ‘08 palette is defined by classic, versatile neutrals punctuated by splashes of invigorating brights, empowering consumers to explore new and creative ways to combine colors.

Variations on popular colors such as energizing red, cool, waterborne blue and eco-friendly green also play a key role this season.

‘The spring ‘08 color palette perfectly reflects the cheerfulness of the season,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Stabilizing neutrals combined with pops of brighter colors to create unique, distinctive looks are the basis for a great spring and summer wardrobe.’ ”

color-forecast, designing, creativity

Exclusive Imports
All shapes of Czech beads ~ pressed, lampworked, firepolished, and rhinestone

Czech Beads
Lots of handmade beads as well as molded and machine cut

Wild Things
Many hard-to-find specialty shapes

Purebeads
Arranged by color and sold in lots for good prices. Helpful articles too!

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

Beadboard.net

 

Over at Beadboard.net, Kay posted an article with some really good tips on both online and “real world” promotions. Some of them are obvious, but are still easy to forget to do, like including your website information on every single thing you send out! Here’s a link to the promotions post, and here’s one to a more recent posting on doing repair work to make more money. I like how “Beading Business” has now been added as a category to the blog so that you can find all the great posts easily!

jewelry-business, jewelry, beads, beading, wearable-art

This time, the brilliant Mr Jeff Tullock of Wrap It Up Jewelry has suggested that those electronic picture frames that can be found EVERYWHERE now could be used as a rotating display of your jewelry at a show! What a great idea. You can read all about it at Rena Klingenberg’s blog called Jewelry Display Ideas.

Imagine your jewelry pictured here!

jewelry-business-tips

Carolina González is the owner and designer of NeoVamp Jewelry. Besides making wicked cool wearables, Carolina is full of great ideas for display. Check out this traveling display case that she’s made:

Jewelry Display Case instructions

jewelry-business-tips, tutorial

Artist: Olivia Competente
Business name: Jewels By Olivia
Location: San Francisco

Website:
Jewels By Olivia

Olivia, how do you describe your work?
I have always loved sparkle and color. I started out with beads and they have always been my first love. What I do now is and extension of my bead work. I love the art nouveau movement and Egyptian adornments.

What is your creative process like?
Sometimes I render a piece, but mostly I like looking at what I have and what will fit with it. I work very organically - it cannot be forced, it will work itself out and be or not. Then I show the design to my mom and she has a great eye and gets me to finish a piece.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
When I was 9ish I lusted after a pair of earrings at Macy’s and my mom wouldn’t buy them for me. Instead she took me to the oldest bead shop in San Francisco and bought me beads and started my life long passion for jewelry. Then in 2001, the industry I worked in got hit bad by 9-11 so my mom told me to go back to jewelry and I started my formal training on metal fabrication. I am now a PMC certified artisan, teach enameling, fused glass and bead work at the Sharon Art Studio in San Francisco.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
My original Cress kiln.

What inspires you to create?
The light as it plays across the ocean or trees of Golden gate park, new colors in beads.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
The fact that great work is giving life to an idea, and collaborating with my mom.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Practice, practice , practice, and have fun in the end.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Cooking for my family and my pets (4 cats and 2 dogs).

What are some of your other favorite things?
I love a good hamburger, read fairy tales, and right now I love a blue-based red color!

Other profiles of mixed media artists:
Wendy Van Camp
Leah Hitchcock-Ybarra

artist-profile, beads, beading, handmade-jewelry, PMC, creativity, designing

GemstonesEileen over at the Artful Crafter has done a wonderful series on cleaning your stones and metal. You’ll have to go into the archives to get to them: visit the main page of her blog and click on March 2007. Then you can scroll down to the posts labeled March 14 through March 21. There’s a wealth of other information in this blog as well. Enjoy your visit!

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

Artist: Kim Falat
Business name: Symphony Jewels
Location: Chicago suburbs

Website:
Symphony Jewels

How do you describe your work, Kim?
My jewelry is elegant and feminine. Most of my designs are finer and more delicate. I’m not a huge fan of the big chunky jewelry out there, although I have incorporated some of those designs to cater to the people who love that style. But I really like my jewelry to just be… pretty. I want it to be versatile also. Today, I’m wearing a pink and black necklace, with black onyx, pink chalcedony, sparkly Swarovski crystals, and sterling silver accents. It has a nice long dangly pendant. This necklace looks perfect with my black pants and pink tank top. This necklace would also look gorgeous with a black evening gown. I want all of my designs to represent me and my style, but I also want people to have a huge variety. Someone can walk into my booth or go to my website and find hundreds of different designs. It’s not just a handful of designs in different colors and the same pattern over and over. Every piece is different, new and fresh.

In a way I chose my name for the same reason. I wanted a pretty name, something that conveyed a certain level of elegance. The neat thing about symphonies, if you’ve ever listened to one, is all the amazing different elements that combine to create one piece. In pop music, you have a verse, a chorus, and a bridge. In a symphony, it’s like a dozen different bridges coming together and all working together beautifully. It’s not just drums, a guitar and a keyboard… it’s a whole orchestra. I think that represents my jewelry designs and how my overall inventory works together. Plus, I’ve been involved with music for quite some time, so “symphony” helped tie in another little aspect of me.

What is your creative process like?
Because I have so many other things filling up my life (a “day job”, husband with his own company, dog training and all those fun household chores and errands), I don’t always have a lot of time for the jewelry business. I often have to make time to sit down for jewelry. But once I do, I’ve missed it so much, and as soon as my brain starts working I just keep creating! Then it becomes a day or two of jewelry bliss! I can pump out 30 or 40 new things in a couple days when I’m that inspired and that motivated. I usually have an audio book or music playing while I’m making jewelry. Since I have such a busy lifestyle, I need to find every way I can to multitask. It helps if I can make jewelry AND practice my vocals, or read a book I just haven’t found the time for yet.

I rarely sketch anything out, except when using PMC. It’s too hard to “redo” with PMC. So I make sure I have a solid idea of what I’m making beforehand. With my other jewelry, I usually have a color scheme or a certain style in mind, I go to my supply boxes and start grouping things together to see how the pieces fit. If I don’t like the end result, I can just take it apart and redo it. Usually that’s just a small tweaking of the layout.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I’ve always been an artist… I started writing poetry and short stories at 8 years old, I drew and painted throughout grade school and high school, pursued a professional singing career, started airbrushing in my 20’s, scrapbooked, made cards, painted glass and wood, and then I stumbled upon jewelry a few years ago. I never took classes to learn how to make jewelry, I just asked a few questions here and there and found some wonderful internet resources. I’ve always been able to put things together… whether it’s words, colors, or textures… and my designs for my jewelry just come to me. Sometimes I’ll actually pull out an outfit and try to make something for it, but mostly I just sit down at my table and sift through my supplies, and my inventory, and try to figure out what I want to make next. I have recently taken a couple PMC classes to learn a new medium and evolve my designs and eventually I will take some metalsmithing classes. I don’t want to pick up a torch and some metal without knowing what to do with those!

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
I love to use Swarovski crystals, gemstones, and sterling silver in my designs. I love how the materials interact together and the outcome can be amazing.

What inspires you to create?
Anything and everything. New clothes fashions help inspire certain designs. A picture in an interior design magazine can show beautiful color combinations. Looking out into my gorgeous landscaped backyard calms me and helps me think. Sifting through my gemstones always triggers a flood of ideas.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
That I have so much money invested in this, I better make some back! No, seriously, I’ve always loved art, and have dabbled in a million things, and found a passion for the jewelry. When I started, I couldn’t get enough! I couldn’t go to sleep at night until I made all my ideas! And now, I’m still so inspired by each new piece I create. One design usually leads me right into the next. I prefer to make one-of-a-kind pieces and I’m always proud of each new creation. And when things get really bad, just hearing the wonderful compliments from people keeps my heart in it.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
My advice is to always master what you do, and you’ll never second-guess yourself.

I’m a perfectionist, and I always demand a lot from myself. And if I don’t get something right the 1st, 2nd or 20th time I do it, I get very frustrated. But perfection takes practice and perseverence. I do see my progress over time, I see everything become better. I know how long it took my designs to become what I wanted from them, and I know any new techniques will take time too. I am confident of my designs and know what I wanted out of each and every piece. When you finally get that level of confidence, it helps you know where you stand in this crazy art world, and it helps balance the artist with the professional in you.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Training dogs. I have a Shetland Sheepdog that I train in agility. I also have a German Shepherd from champion bloodlines whom I want to show in conformation and the sport of Schutzhund, which involves protection work, tracking and obedience. It’s HARD!!! Seriously!! Look up Schutzhund videos on youtube.com and you’ll see how HARD this is!!! But he is a perfect example of the breed, in anatomy, temperment and drive. So we work together so we can get all the necessary titles on him to prove to the world what he is so he can help improve the German Shepherd breed.

What’s your other favorite things? Food, books, etc?
Oooh, I love Italian food… and chocolate… and potato chips! And I love to read fantasy adventure books. When I really want to relax, I throw in an audio book and make jewelry. I also have a few “comfort” movies (Goonies, Ghostbusters and Raiders of the Lost Ark) that have the ability to just take me away to a happy quiet place and help me forget the concerns of the world (and vacuuming, and dishes, and laundry, and litter boxes…!).

Links to other unique bead artists:
Cindy Forrester
Clare Byfield

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

Artist: Billie Sanchez
Business name: Wicked Oak Designs
Location: Flagstaff Arizona

Website:
Wicked Oak Designs

How do you describe your beadwork, Billie?
I do mostly OOAK jewelry pieces and beaded objects. I love creating and building 3-D pieces and larger cabochon necklaces.

What is your creative process like?
Well, I usually start with a focal piece or a color scheme. Sometimes I have an idea in my head and I draw it out, others I just mess with it until I like the end result. I usually have the radio or TV going (good time for me to catch up on TV shows I enjoy), also, my 3 year old is always running around and adding to what it going on. I work when I can as often as I can. Sometimes I can sit for hours and work other times is 15 minutes here and there.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I had many years of art classes. I found that I like beads better then paint. I found that I had a much easier time creating what I wanted in beads then in paint. I decided one day that I felt I could recreate a lot of the basic pieces that I was seeing around me, but with my own personal touch. It just kind of snowballed from there and 9 years later I am still creating and designing.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
My beads, of course, My Ott Light and my Fireline…I use it for everything.

What inspires you to create?
Sometimes it is something I see in my daily workings, sometimes it is a piece created by another artist. I just try and keep my eyes open and remember what it is exactly that grabs my attention in something and try and use that and give it my own spin.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
Mostly just the thought of being finished with the piece. It is always easier once you reach the halfway point. So I try and focus on getting to that point when I am having a hard time.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
If you love what you are doing, keep at it. I have been doing this for 9 years and am not rich because of it. I keep going because I love it and it is a great way for me to relax and create things of beauty.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Being a Mom and Wife. I have 3 wonderful kids ages 11, 6 and 3. Also a wonderful Husband of 11 1/2 years.

What are some of your other favorite things?
I love sushi. My favorite color is pink. I love finding time to read a new bead book or a bead magazine (Bead and Button and Beadwork are my favorites).

Other seedbead artist profiles:
Dulcey Heller
Karen Paust

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

Hands of the Hills
Glorious Hilltribe silver and Khmer gold

Nina Designs
Bali, Indian, Thai, and Hilltribe silver

Beads of Bali
Wholesale Bali silver, direct from the producers

Rishashay
Huge selection of exquisite silverwork

Anne Choi
American artist with an international background, Anne creates silver beads like no others!

Green Girl Studios
Silver and pewter fairy-tale beads. Wonderful!

Tarak High Karat Gold
Wholesale only ~ beads, chains, and findings

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

Artist: Bernadine Stoopman
Location: Brisbane, Queensland (East Coast of Australia)

Websites and Blog:
Bridal Jewellery & Hair Accessories by Bernadine
Designs to Love: Bernadine’s gallery
Handcrafted Jewellry & Special Occasion Creations
Hooked on Wire blog

Bernadine, your work is so unique. How do you describe it?
Inventive and inspired are probably the first words that come to mind when describing my wirework.

What is your creative process like?
Sometimes I pull bits and pieces out of my storage boxes to see what goes together but that’s not always successful for me as I don’t have an unlimited collection, so I leave it for a couple of days and surf the net for interesting beads and components or go to a trade show if there’s one on and from there I’ll pull the design together. I sometimes design on paper for customers who’d like a couple of different options, but mostly I’m given a few descriptive words such as, Black, Crystal and Glitzy and left to my own devices. Many of my designs just kind of evolve as I go along. I like to listen to music whilst working, usually just the classical radio station. Some of the pieces I’ve created, e.g. my free form wedding Tiaras, take several days to complete, sometimes I have to put them aside and work on other things as wrapping 26g wire for a couple of hours at a time is painful on the fingers particularly in winter.

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have no formal training in jewellery design, I did study art in high school though. I’ve been creative from a very early age, painting and drawing, sewing, mosaics, and later on Photography when I did a short course. Above all I love colour, texture, and shape.

I also spent 26 years or so working in corporate environments in Office Management and Finance. During that time I project managed several commerical office renovations where I got to play with colour and reasonably big budgets among other things.

In Sept 2005, the International Mining and Resources company I worked for decided to relocate its divisional office from the East coast to the West coast of Australia. I walked away with a large redunancy and thoughts of a nice holiday and a new start . In March 2006, I went along to a basic stringing class just for the fun of it and was instantly hooked. From there I started making earrings, (basic techniques learnt from a book) and then really got hooked on Wire. (that could be a good title for a book…lol) The more I played around with it, the more I discovered that there’s not much you can’t make out of wire. In Nov 2006 I hosted my first jewellery viewing, with 50 or 60 people attending and did fantastically sales wise as well as collecting some wonderful repeat customers. I got alot of practice making a couple hundred pieces of jewellery for that party, as well as using my artistic skills and photographs (taken in Tasmania on that holiday I mentioned) to create swing tags and a website or two.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
That’s a really easy question… Wire. Playing with wire is my passion and I’d be lost without it.

What inspires you to create?
I’m inspired by Nature. I adore Frogs, Geckos, Lizards, Rainforests, The Beach and Ocean and all that it holds. Many of these things can be seen in my jewellery creations.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
My will to succeed and knowing that if I give up, I’ve let it beat me.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Read, Read, Read….as much as you can get your hands on. Most techniques can be learnt from books so join a Library, join a Beading Forum or group, enter as many competitions as you can afford. Experiment with new techinques, make things up as you go along, who knows what you might stumble on. Submit photos of your work to Beading magazines, get printed. One or two might ask you to write projects for their publication. Worked for me.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
My beautiful Border Collie Pup - Bojak Mister Remarkable or Remy as he’s known and oh yes that dreaded housework.

What’s your favorite comfort food?
Love Italian Food… My mum’s parents came to Australia from the Province of Brescia - Lombardy in Northern Italy. That might have something to do with it.

What’s your favorite color and other favorite things?
That’s a truly difficult question for me to answer. Love colour of any tone or description generally. But to say I’m not overly keen on Yellow. Its a difficult colour for most people to wear.

My other Hobbies are Photography, Gardening - I grow orchids, Painting with Acrylics and Cooking.

artist-profile, handmade-jewelry, wirework-jewelry, Swarovski-design-competition, creativity, designing, wearable-art

Artist: Debby Arem
Business name: Arem Designs (Beadles and Three Ring Circuits)
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland

Website:
Debby Arem

Debby, tell us about your work and why you picked the names that you did!
At the time ( 1979 ) Beadles seemed a clever name, one that popped into my mind almost immediately and one that people wouldn’t likely forget. Of course it’s a little corny, but people DO remember it! Three Ring Circuits was harder to come up with and was a joint family process. It really was so fitting as back when I started this line, my life was pretty chaotic with 2 kids still at home, a large number of pets and a busy career. So it really was a pun on words so to speak. I’ve never tired of this name although now my life is a lot calmer and more orderly thank goodness.
As far as my jewelry lines are concerned -both of my jewelry lines have a number of things in common although they are so different. Both lines rely on color and texture I think to get their point across. Both lines have within them many different styles – elegant, casual, funky, whimsical, geometric, and monochromatic to name a few. Both lines are pretty intricate as I love to layer …layer…layer – a throwback to the time when I was a silkscreen designer. I know I’m very fortunate to have been able to find another creative outlet ( beading and my recycled line ) when I decided to quit printmaking.

What is your creative process like?
Well even though I have two separate and very distinct jewelry lines, I would say my creative process is pretty much the same for both. I have never been one to draw things out first. I design in my head as I go along although sometimes I have already envisioned the final design before I begin and it’s just a matter of “ filling in the missing pieces” if you understand what I mean.

When working with beads I first gather together all the colors I know I want to use. There is usually a main component (for instance black onyx) around which I would base my design. I always try to have a variety of shapes and textures within each necklace and in many cases, one special focal point such as a very unique carved bead or an unusual pendant. I’m also very careful to make sure that there is some symmetry even in an “ asymmetrical” necklace and I’m always very careful to match beads of the same type in pattern and depth of color. Because I have some designs that are very elegant and formal, some that are more ethnic, and some that are outright “funky,” I also have a certain feeling in mind that will dictate which components I choose, the length, and the final cost to the client. Of course, with three cats, I have to be very careful never to leave a design out on the table that I am working on unless it is covered up with a cloth! I have always found it most curious however, that from time to time, a cat will actually walk across a design ( as I am working on it ) but no toes will ever touch the piece or disturb a bead! This never ceases to amaze me and it’s consistent for all my cats.

When designing my 3RC line (Three Ring Circuits) there are many more steps that would go into the process. Again though, the first consideration is my main color and from there, what type of feeling I am trying to convey. Many of my 3RC designs are very whimsical and cartoonish. Others are strictly geometric. Because I am working with so many eclectic components such a brass stampings, anodized aluminum, beads, electrical components and of course a recycled circuit board , the challenge is a bit greater to layer just the right components onto the circuit board to create my mini collages.
I have always been one to work best when it is quiet and I find that the hours can just slip away when I’m so engrossed in my design work. It’s probably my secret to staying thin as sometimes I actually forget to eat if I’m busy at work!

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have been a jewelry designer for over 25 yrs. However, this is not what I was first trained in. I have my B.A. in Fine Arts with a concentration in silkscreen design, but gave up working in this medium because of the toxicity of the inks. At the time, there were only oil-based inks and without proper ventilation in my home, it would have been foolish to continue. My husband is a gemologist and because of him, I was first introduced to the incredible world of beads! I took a beading/knotting class and found I was a natural as I had always knit and crocheted and enjoyed working with my hands. Initially, I was only designing necklaces for my husband’s clients if someone requested something in particular. I got my first “big break” when I approached Bloomingdales (at the urging of a friend) and showed my (then) somewhat limited line to a buyer there in the “bridge” department. Bridge jewelry is jewelry that doesn’t use precious metals or precious stones, which would be considered “fine jewelry”, but it is also not “costume”, where one would expect to only find plastic, glass, and base metals.

I was asked to do a “trunk show” and had such a wonderful response that it was the impetus for me to approach other stores. I found that transitioning from a “hobbyist” to a professional was really the result of a snowball effect. Many times one gallery or museum would suggest another and soon I found myself submitting designs to the Smithsonian for their museum shop and their museum shop catalog, which in turn led me to submit designs to other catalogs as well.

How I came to work with recycled circuit boards is a very interesting story. My husband owned a computer company at the time and one day I found myself in the back room where the computers were being assembled, looking at the motherboards. I had never seen the inside of a computer before and I was struck by the beauty of the circuitry. I remember immediately thinking “this would make great jewelry”! Of course the challenge was how to cut up the motherboards. I went through many trial and error attempts until I found what worked best. Because I already had a relationship with a number of the Smithsonian’s museum shops, I was VERY fortunate to be able to show this line when I was first started creating it, and to have it sold in the Smithsonian’s Air and Space museum shop. I suppose I was one of the first “green” companies without realizing it and now that computers are everywhere and just about everyone has one (and is replacing and upgrading all the time- in this throwaway society), this line is even more relevant – not just as a pretty piece of jewelry, but as a way to help keep circuit boards out of landfills .

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
What an interesting question ! Believe it or not, I would say my set of dental tools! I found that these are wonderful for scraping or picking off excess glue!

What inspires you to create
I’m not even sure how to answer this – it just happens. I think because I have always been a creative person (even as a child I took art lessons) that just waking up each day and really SEEING what is around me has been inspiration enough to want to create something – whether it’s a piece of jewelry or cooking something special for dinner. I’m such a visual person that quite honestly, just being out in nature as we live out in the country has been the driving force to make me want to come home and design something.
What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
This is an easy question – I’m a perfectionist. I can’t stop until I feel that I’ve done the best I can do. I suppose it’s a curse and a blessing in a way. If you check out my website, you’ll see I even speak about this on my opening page as part of my greeting!

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise intheir level of artistry?
The best advice I can give is to attend high end craft shows and see what other people are creating. I never get bored doing this (and have to restrain myself from wanting to buy everything sometimes!) I am also personally always stretching myself to take on something more difficult (even in my knitting) as I feel this is another way to rise to the next level in your craft. I think the more skills you have that pertain to a certain art form, the more ideas are possible.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
When I am not designing my jewelry or out marketing it, I am a volunteer with two dog rescue groups. My husband and I are very involved in helping to place dogs that have been either given up by their owners or found abandoned. I find this volunteer work so rewarding, and try very hard to educate people along the way to ALWAYS spay or neuter their pet. I also try to educate people to always keep their pets up to date on their shots and be on heartworm preventative. There are so many unwanted pets in this world, and the reasons people give up their pets never cease to amaze me.

What’s your favorite hobby?
Knitting! I’m a knitting fanatic and always have a couple of projects going at the same time – an easy project such as a simple scarf or sweater that I can work on while watching TV and a very difficult pattern where I can only knit for so long and then I have to put it down and take a break. I love the challenge of trying to decipher a pattern and the satisfaction when you have completed a new stitch and know it’s exactly as it’s supposed to be!

I discovered knitting a number of years back and find I get the same pleasure out of this as I do designing jewelry. With all the amazing new yarns out – and all the different textures – I find it’s very much like designing jewelry or silkscreening. I like texture in anything I create and I love the fact that I can do this both in my business and in my hobby.

mixed-media, jewelry, beads, beading, artist-profile, creativity, designing, jewelry-business

Etched Raku

Artist: Maggie Towne
Business name: Bead Towne
Location: Los Angeles County, California

Websites:
Bead Towne
Etsy Store

Maggie, how do you describe your work?
At the moment my latest art of choice is lampwork bead making using a single fuel hot head torch. I also design and make jewelry, have been doing so since I was a child. Like many other lampworkers, I began buying handmade artisan glass beads to use in my jewelry design. It took a gentle push from a friend saying, “What would it take you to make beads?” to sign up for a beginners class in July 2006. I am somewhat of a perfectionist, which sometimes stalls my creativity, but also defines my style.

A few years ago I was trying to come up with a new name for my business. Family and friends were giving all kinds of help and we had a lot of fun and laughs. Bead Towne became a play on words, using my last name and my love of beads. It is a name that works for both my jewelry making and lampworking.

Things that go bump in the night

What is your creative process like?
As stated, I am something of a perfectionist when it comes to execution, so I usually have an idea in mind when I sit at the torch. I will have glass rods in the colors of the day, frits (tiny shards of glass), and tools at hand. My inspiration may come from a piece of art, my mood, colors I like, books, suggestions from friends, etc. Sometimes I make a sample bead and if I am not sure of it, I’ll put it in my bead bin and maybe get back to it later to make a set, maybe not. Other times I crank out a set of 5 to 10 beads in one sitting.

Chocolate cupcake

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your currentlevel of artistry?
My first lampwork class basically taught me how to light my torch and not much beyond that. I love to read so I bought several books on glass beads. Love research and kept getting hits on a website called WetCanvas, my best resource to date. Beyond that, it’s the PPP motto. Practice, practice, practice.

When starting out I wanted to make every kind of bead possible as quickly as possible. Found I needed to go back and master some techniques before I could go on to others. I have to continually push myself to try new techniques.

Crazy as this sounds I got my Bachelor’s of Art in Art Education just for fun and to challenge myself. Never took a glass class in college, but I feel my art background helps with using color, design, experimentation, and discipline.

Valentine Treats

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Beyond the basics of my torch, glass, and safety equipment, I love using presses, a razor tool, and various other tools with which to poke at the glass. Can’t imagine progressing along without my support system of other lampworkers.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
If I have been away from the torch for awhile, feel uninspired or frustrated, I go back to what I do well. It used to mean making frit beads and now it is making seashells. Who knows what it will be a year from now. Once I get back in the groove, I can expand and get back on track.

Yummy Cocoa

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
The basics of believing in yourself, challenging yourself to try new techniques, and good old practice, practice, practice.

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Teaching sixth grade 180 days a year, friends, and reading take up the majority of my time outside of art. I also like to visit museums, attend concerts and plays, and enjoy nature when I can.

What’s your favorite comfort food?
My love of ice cream also goes back to my childhood. Nothing like a scoop of two to comfort my soul.

Macchiato

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

I recently went to see what all was on Tammy’s updated list of e-courses, and I was amazed by the number of offerings she has! She has divided them into “crash courses” and “slow-and-easy” formats, so you can pick what fits your needs. Do you want to learn more about knotting, metal clay, or business tips? How about macrame, basic stringing, or metal fabrication? It’s all available at Tammy’s About.com jewelry making site!

[tags]tutorials,beading,jewelry-making,beads,wearable-art[/tags}]

Transformer 2 bracelet
Photographer: Greg Mullin

Artist: Tina Koyama
Location: Seattle

Website & Blog: Tina Koyama
e-mail: tina@tinakoyama.com

Tina, your work is obviously very organic. How do you describe it?
My current focus is on self-supported sculptures using off-loom beadweaving stitches. My work is probably most closely related to contemporary basketry: 3-dimensional forms made from flexible materials. I like to keep an open mind about what constitutes a “bead” (technically, anything that has a hole going through it!). I have a series of sculptures made from pasta, which, as anyone who has strung a macaroni necklace knows, makes excellent beads!


No. 5 in the Semolina
Photographer: Greg Mullin

What is your creative process like?
My creative process is completely improvisational and intuitive. I never plan or sketch anything – I simply choose some beads, thread a needle and plunge into it. That improvisational process is both the fuel and the outcome of my work. I am as compelled by the challenge of continually asking, “What happens if…?” as I am by the eventual answer, which always surprises me. Ultimately, it is that surprise that motivates me to continue exploring in a way that implementing a planned design never would.

I always listen to music while I’m beading, and my favorite is the improvisational jazz piano of Keith Jarrett. I can listen to one of his CDs a hundred times and always hear something new – some tiny nuance I missed previously. I’m completely inspired by his apparent fearlessness in appearing in concert before thousands of people to play music he has never played before. My artistic goal is to be the Keith Jarrett of beadwork!

As far as my work habits go, that’s where my background in writing (see below) comes in handy. I get up every weekday morning at 5 a.m. and bead for a couple of hours before going to work at my various day jobs (when I was a writer, I wrote every morning before work – different medium, same habit). On my days off, I bead for 4-5 hours in the morning. It’s not really about looking for or waiting for inspiration – it’s about showing up every day and being there when inspiration arrives. Sometimes it arrives, and sometimes it doesn’t, but either way, I get a lot of beading done (almost 1,000 hours a year).


Soft & Stone
Photographer: Greg Mullin

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I have a B.A. and M.A. in creative writing, and before 2002, most of my creative and professional work was in writing (I did corporate communications for 20+ years before I discovered beads). Until 2007 when I earned a certificate in fiber arts from the University of Washington’s Extension Program, I had no formal education in art.

I began beading probably the way many beaders begin: I made a few earrings and strung a few necklaces, but that type of beading didn’t interest me for long. After a while, I got bored, and I almost gave up beads entirely – until I discovered seed beads in 2002. That’s when I realized the amazing potential of beads – the ability to create complex, 3-dimensional shapes simply by pulling thread tightly through them. The book The New Beadwork (Kathlyn Moss and Alice Scherer) changed my life because I suddenly saw that beads could be used for artistic expression in many ways, not just as jewelry. It really opened my mind to the possibilities.

As far as my beading education goes, early on I used books to learn basic stitches, and I’ve taken numerous classes at local bead shops and bead shows. Even though I’ve been teaching since 2003, I still enjoy taking classes myself, because everyone has a different way of doing things, and there’s always something new to learn. I also enjoy the social aspect of classes.

I’d have to say, though, that my primary training is and always has been simply experimenting continually. I have several shoe-box-size boxes filled with tiny pieces of beadwork (maybe ½ to 2 inches wide) that I have made to explore a stitch or technique. I’d say those boxes are equivalent to a painter’s sketchbook.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
You mean other than beads?  Three things: Beading glasses; full-spectrum task light; triangle-shaped scoop. I am always on a quest to find the ideal beading thread, which, as far as I’m concerned, hasn’t been developed yet!

What inspires you to create?
Curiosity is probably my primary inspiration. I’m always wondering what would happen if I tried doing something different. Beads themselves (the various shapes and sizes) are also a strong source of inspiration because they can come together in surprising ways, depending on the light, finish, color, stitch used, tension, whatever. The continual discovery keeps me motivated.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
If I run into a frustrating problem, I usually just “bead through it” and keep going until I find a solution. I’m kind of persistent that way. Sometimes I’ll put the problem down and start working on something else for a while, and often that frees my mind enough to go back to the first problem and find a new solution.


Transformer 1 necklace
Photographer: Greg Mullin

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
One of my goals as a beadwork instructor is to help students overcome the fear of working without instructions and discover the joy of working improvisationally. My encouragement is to continually experiment with whatever stitch or techniques you know and go beyond what you have learned. If you take a class or read a magazine article to make a piece of jewelry, take it a step further by changing the design in some way. Another tip is not to feel compelled to always complete something as planned. For example, if you start out to make a bracelet but find that the design is changing in some way that is no longer appropriate for a bracelet, let the bracelet go and follow the beadwork. Even if you end up with a piece of beadwork that can’t be worn in any way, you will have learned more from it than if you had simply made another bracelet according to plan.

[editor’s note: Tina teaches nationally at bead shows, bead societies and other venues and also sell kits for many of her class projects. For information on kits and classes, please visit her web site and see the “classes” section!]

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
I have several “day jobs”: freelance writing (feature articles for magazines and marketing writing), teaching beadwork locally and nationally, and customer service for an online bead shop.

What’s your favorite activity besides beading?
Knitting! In the evening when the creative side of my brain is tired and lazy (I do my best creative work in the morning), I like to knit, which engages my hands and a different part of my brain but still feels constructive. At night, knitting calms me so that I can get to sleep (whereas beading would rev me up). I also like to take knitting with me to the doctor’s office to fill the time while I’m waiting, and I like to take it with me on planes, too. (I also love freeform knitting and crochet! But that’s creative and isn’t the same as comfort knitting.)

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