About my Beadwork

One way to learn about glass is to make very small works of art, no less difficult or time-consuming, but less expensive, than full-size pieces.

 

This was the idea that brought me to beads.  I like miniatures, anyway.  Maybe it has to do with being near-sighted.

 

Working with beads has helped me learn about characteristics of different kinds of glass.  Glasses that are not compatible with one another will shatter if joined together.  Reds are sensitive, and will burn to grey if overheated or if there is less oxygen in relation to propane.  Controlling oxygen and propane can produce metallic surfaces on some colors.  Some colors interact to produce a dark edge at the boundary where they touch.  Dark colors melt faster than light colors.  This practical learning is the beginning of getting to know the material. 

 

Making jewelry is a natural consequence of making beads.  Here we run into a new topic with its own logic:  fashion.

 

Taste is constantly changing, seasonal, different from region to region, always new even when harking back to the past. 

 

If we want to wear a piece longer than one season, it better be classic, with a satisfaying and balanced design, and obviously perfect in workmanship. 

 

Then again, if you want to have fun, break all these rules and make, oh, say, carrots or little aliens.  What are rules for?  Jewelry should speak to the mischief in us, sometimes.

 

Some of my necklaces have names.  No two are alike, and once one is sold, no one will have another just like it.  All my beads are properly annealed in my jewelry kiln. The tiny seed beads may come from the Czech Republic or Japan; occasional supplementary beads come from southern Africa.  The fittings are sterling silver, or occasionally silver plate.  Plated steel is preferable in some places because it's strong.

 

Currently my jewelry is carried by Hoopla Traders in the District of Columbia, at 733 8th St. SE.