Beading Arts

Paris Photo Necklace Artist: Beth Cummings Business Name: Diffraction Location: Chicago, IL Website: Diffraction Ivy Stud Earrings Beth, how do you describe your work? I’ve always been a photographer, and one day I had this epiphany that I needed to combine my photography with jewelry in order to create some really bold, modern and graphic pieces. Basically the kind of stuff I like to wear. All the images that appear in my jewelry are my original photographs that I transfer to thick plastic and hand cut, shape and wire. When first creating the line I wanted a name that would reflect the uniqueness of the original photography while still sounding modern and intriguing. Thus, Diffraction was born! Sliced Earrings What is your creative process like? Well this is really a two part question for me. The photography aspect of it happens in chunks, my husband and I will go on roadtrips, trips abroad or sometimes just to our local farmers market and I’ll capture things that ...

Bead Journey by BeadStyle Magazine The top 26 projects from BeadStyle Around the World special issue, plus eight all-new projects representing five countries and three additional new pieces, provide even more inspiration. Where do you want to go today? Asia and the Pacific Rim, Africa, Europe, the Americas? Take an exciting trip around the globe with Bead Journey! If you didn’t get to see BeadStyle ’s special Around the World issue, you’ll love the projects packed into this booklet. With the large, easy to follow step-out photos that BeadStyle is famous for, there are projects that will take you all over the globe with their materials, color combinations, and style. I found a project near the back that inspired me to use some of the lovely lampwork glass beads that I bought when we were in Italy. Funny enough, it wasn’t one of the Italian designs, but nonetheless it seemed to speak to me to get out those beads…now! It’s not exactly what the project shows to make, but isn’t that part...

Artist: Phaedra A. Torres Business name: Lluvia Designs Location: at a bead show, preferably, but in West Covina, CA when not. Website: Lluvia Designs Phaedra, how do you describe your work? I usually like to say that I specialize in “unwearable” jewelry. Mostly because it’s the easiest way to describe it, and partially because I just like to see people’s reactions to that. When I tell people I make jewelry, I usually add the disclaimer of “but not normal jewelry” because I can see the pictures forming in their heads of the jewelry they think I make. If I don’t steer them away from that image, they usually don’t know what to say when they actually see some of the junky crazy stuff I make. I spare us both the pain. Lluvia Designs was born because I always liked the name and decided that if I had children, one would be named Lluvia, which means “rain” in Spanish. Well, I decided not to have real and human kids, so the name was adopted by my jewelry. What is your cre...

Felt, Fabric, and Fiber Jewelry by Sherri Haab I was trying to figure out how to explain the way I feel about Sherri Haab , and this write-up on Amazon caught my eye: Sherri Haab knows jewelry. Sherri Haab knows fiber and fabric. Sherri Haab knows crafting. Is there anything Sherri Haab can’t do? Frankly, no. She’s the Superwoman of crafting books! That’s it in a nutshell! I have drooled over Sherri’s resin jewelry and her work in metal clay, and now she throws me this curveball by working in soft maleable materials that I just didn’t expect. Some of the pieces in this book are elegant, some are funky and whimsical, but all of them are pure Sherri-creativity! Sherri covers basic techniques in knotting, embroidery, simple stitching, crochet, and even quilting, all in the quest to come up with original fabric jewelry pieces. This is a beginner book, so if you’ve already got a lot of fabric skills, it may not be challenging enough for you. But if you’re looking forward to adding fabrics a...

Bead Romantique: Elegant Beadweaving Designs by Lisa Kan From the name of this book, you shouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that the designs featured within will appeal to your girly (but not silly), romantic, and feminine side. The pieces that Lisa Kan has designed and shared are lush and elegant, never over-the-top, which was what I feared when I first heard about it! Wrong!! These are gorgeous pieces, but never overstated. From the book’s description: Inspired by art history, this step-by-step guidebook features 17 designs influenced by the Gothic, Renaissance, Victorian, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco eras reinterpreted in the artist’s distinctive, contemporary style. This is not a book for beginners, although if you are ambitious enough, by all means give it a shot. The inspiration alone from this book could be the push you need to get you into more challenging work! Don’t forget to check out The BookShop from time to time for more great bead and jewelry books. Technorati Tags: h...