Glowing Jewelry Inspirations

Our latest bead giveaway has come to a close! Thank you so much to everyone who entered, and to Harvey at The Big Purple Barn for sponsoring the giveaway. Our winner was Abigail, who chose Antique Uranium Glass Spacers as her favorite beads from the shop. They are definitely a perfect example of the uniqueness in salvage and recycled glass beads.

Uranium Glass Beads by The Big Purple Barn

Uranium glass – sometimes referred to as Vaseline glass – was very popular in the first half of the 20th century. The uranium additives were used to achieve particular colors, but also gave the pieces the ability to glow under a black light. Production waned with the scarcity of uranium, turning the (minutely) radioactive glass designs into valuable collectables.

Inspired by the vintage appeal of these beads, I went on a hunt for some Jazz Age jewelry tutorials. Some of these could probably be adapted to include lampwork beads – either way, they’re fabulous. I was really hoping to find some projects inspired by Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, but I couldn’t seem to find any. Since I’m halfway through my second viewing of the series, I might have to come up with my own!

Art Deco Jet Necklace by Creativity in Pieces



Roaring 20's Chain Jewelry Tutorials by Rena Klingenberg



Great Gatsby Bracelet Tutorial by M&J Trimming

What’s your favorite art deco jewelry style?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading and Friends

Bead Giveaway: Salvage Glass Lampwork

Some of the most coveted beads in the crafting world have one of two very special qualities: they’re unique or one-of-a-kind, like handmade lampwork beads, African batik beads, or natural semi-precious stones; or they have a story, like vintage French seed beads, African trade beads, and found objects. Our latest featured bead shop, The Big Purple Barn, offers gorgeous beads with both of these qualities. Harvey Haines, an artist who specializes in salvaged materials, creates lovely lampwork beads from a wide variety of recycled glass. The results are pretty wonderful.

One lucky Inspirational Beading reader will have a chance to try these unique beads in their own designs! Harvey has offered a $50 gift certificate for The Big Purple Barn – the selection is sure to get your inspiration rolling!

How to Enter:

For a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to use on one of a kind lampwork beads, visit The Big Purple Barn and check out the selection. Then head back here to Inspirational Beading and leave a comment letting us know which designs are your favorite.

Important: Comments must be made here on InspirationalBeading.blogspot.com to qualify. Please be sure to include an email address in your comment so that I can contact you if you win! This giveaway is open to readers from Canada and the US.

One winning comment will be drawn on Monday, April 18th. Good luck!

Update: This draw has closed.

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading and The Big Purple Barn

Inspired Bead Maker: The Big Purple Barn

As one of humanity’s earliest inventions, the bead is one of those essential things that connect us all together. Creating beads is a skill that often flourishes in unexpected places. Some of the most talented lampwork artists got their start suddenly, leaving their day jobs to fire up a torch practically overnight. Other artists find their way to bead making and exploring the many possibilities of color and glass by way of another medium. Today’s guest, Harvey Haines of The Big Purple Barn, is an artist, sculptor, and flameworker with a flair for salvaged materials.

Inspirational Beading: How did you first get started with bead making?

Harvey: It was five years ago, I first hit the torch a little while after stumbling on a lampworking demonstration. Steelwork has always been a passion of mine and playing with glass looked like some magic version of welding played back at one-tenth speed. Entrancing, beautiful. Seeing it gave me one of those ‘I should do that’ feelings, the variety that tend to get me into trouble. Two or three months later I had a make-shift glass studio taking over half of my little workshop.

Inspirational Beading: Do you remember your first bead? Where is it today?

Harvey: Normally I am a leap-before-looking kind of guy, but lampworking can be a bit dangerous for the uninitiated. After some searching I found a hippy named Andrew who would let me into his studio and together we took an hour long scratch at the surface of lampworking. Those first few beads are still hanging around, I like to pull them out now and again to see how my work has changed.

Salvage Glass Spacer Beads

Inspirational Beading: Where do you look for inspiration? How does it translate in your designs?

Harvey: Antique tools and hardware; just about any old hunk of metal. Paintings by Dennis Hopper and Chien Fei Chiang, photographs by Stephen Wilkes, sculptures by Rodin. Cars like the 1950 and ’51 Studebakers or the ill-fated Tucker Torpedo. Movies made by Sergio Leone - ‘Duck, You Sucker!” is my current favorite. Rita Hayworth. The material itself is the greatest driving force behind anything that I do, whether I’m using glass or steel. I can take inspiration from any of my favorite places, but that ends up being reimagined through the lens of the medium. Glass is a seductive, sensual thing. It flows and curves in so many wonderfully confusing ways, you just can’t help falling for the stuff once you see the way it plays in the heat. I watch the glass, follow its flow, and make it into whatever it wants to be.

Salvage Glass Lentil Beads

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite bead style or shape to create?

Harvey: Lentil beads may be a bit simple, but I appreciate their powers of display. A lentil lets the glass stretch its legs and show off more than it could in a spacer, without being as weighty as one of my extra-large focal beads. Aside from that, I don’t use molds or presses which means it takes a lot of extra time and love to make a nice lentil. Maybe I ought not to say it, but I’m proud of every good lentil that makes its way out of my kiln.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite color or combination to work with?

Harvey: My Verdigris and Antique Arctic glasses are tied for favorite color. Verdigris isn’t showy, but it has a great coppery-green hue and the glass is sourced from broken 1940s telegraph pole insulators. Antique Arctic is a particularly icy oceanic blue, so vibrant and pure. That one is made out of glassware from the 1950s, the color just screams of mid-century Americana.

Antique Arctic Glass and Inclusion Glass Beads

Inspirational Beading: What is the most exciting design in your repertoire right now? What makes it special?

Harvey: Sticking to beads, I’d say my Inclusion Glass pieces are undoubtedly the most exciting. In addition to experimenting with recycled glass, I enjoy playing around with different additives, such as seashells. Many of the Inclusion bead ingredients are kept as trade secrets and the beads are always done in limited runs. Some of the ingredients are post-consumer recycled material, like the glass, and others are leftover antique odds and ends. You never know what’s coming!

Inspirational Beading: What is the most rewarding moment in your design process?

Harvey: I think this changes from project to project, but right now I’m going to say that the most rewarding aspect of my work is knowing that a person enjoys what I’ve made. One of the best parts of being a ‘maker’ is having the ability to give, or to help others give, unique, personal, and meaningful gifts. You can’t beat it, really.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any plans for new bead styles or themes in the works?

Harvey: Mixed-color recycled beads are sort of my white-whale. On account of various scientific mumbo jumbo, mixing different types of glasses will cause the finished piece to crack. Keep in mind that all of my recycled glasses were made by different manufacturers across the past eight or nine decades; they are rarely compatible. Still, I’ve had some promising successes, and I should be offering multi-color pieces quite soon!

Salvage Steel Desk Organizer

Inspirational Beading: What are some of your other creations?

Harvey: My first big commission was from Red Wing Shoes in Minnesota. They hired me to make a shelf of some sort so they could display a few pairs of used workbooks in their headquarters. I ended up building the shelf out of around 100 antique wrenches, it weighed a ton! Another fun project was done as part of an Earth Day celebration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I gathered all sorts of discarded nonsense from across the campus and made a series of sculptures, one of which remains on permanent display at the school. The best piece was a working potter’s wheel made out of computers, some AV equipment, bicycle parts, and an antique mixer. Somehow I managed to make a handful of decent little pots, as well as an incredible mess.

Salvage Steel Valet Dish

In my Etsy shop you’ll find a variety of products aside from beads. Depending on when you look there will be glass items such as marbles, worry stones, and Honey Stones. Right now you’ll see a new addition - Fossilized shark’s teeth encased in glass from Coca-Cola bottles. There are also a few steel products peppered across the shop. I enjoy making nuclear-grade desk organizers and valet dishes. They’re heavy, nearly indestructible, and personalized with Braille lettering that is drilled into the surface of the steel.

Automotive Glass Worry Stones

Inspirational Beading: Who do you hope to inspire with your work?

Harvey: Maybe it sounds a little corny, but I’ve got to say I’d like to inspire the youngest generation. What I’d like is for kids to have more access and encouragement to find a craft that means something to them. The world would be a better place if more people had a comfortable outlet to share what happens inside their heads. The heart and mind are stimulated by the work, whatever it may be, and it helps people to connect in beautiful ways. As with so many things, this all begins with the kids: that’s why I love doing live demonstrations and teaching young’uns how to make beads. If you’ve got a particular talent, pass it on to as many little humans as you can, that is the most enduring and important artwork that you’ll ever make.

You can see more of Harvey’s designs at The Big Purple Barn on Etsy, and check out The Big Purple Barn website for a gallery of awesome sculptures and designs.

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading and Harvey Haines

Inspired Bead Maker: Serena Smith Lampwork

Whatever new innovations in beads come our way, nothing quite beats the beauty of a handmade lampwork bead to inspire amazing creations. The colors, shapes, and patterns of unique flameworked glass go so perfectly with our favorite techniques and materials. One of my favorite lampwork artists of late is Serena Smith, whose floral creations are a delight to behold.

Inspirational Beading: How did you first get started with lampwork?

Serena: In 1991 I was working my first "real job" after college in Seattle, at a company called TSI that sold jewelry and lapidary supplies. I found out through them about the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle where they were doing all kinds of art classes, including glass. I took the bead making class and not long after I turned my bedroom in my 1 bedroom apartment into a studio and moved into the living room, bought an oxy/propane set up and supplies from Frantz, and started making beads. Not long after that I returned to school to get a degree in glass art from the Rhode Island School of Design. At that time, lampwork was not given much respect in the art world and the department didn't even have a lampworking torch - other than mine. With my degree I learned about all different kinds of glass working, some of which I still do today, but lampwork is my first love.

Inspirational Beading: Do you remember your first bead? Where is it today?

Serena: Not my first bead, but I do remember the first demo the instructors did on sculpting beads. Most of the class was about how to make a round bead with dots on it. But they demo'd a pudgy little bug thing and warned us that sculpted beads were pretty much guaranteed to break so the demo was just a throw away idea. This was back before annealing kilns were on the market, didn't even know about fiber blanket, we used vermiculite in a can and flame annealing was considered a myth by a lot of people. But, once I saw the potential in sculpting glass that was pretty much it for me, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I used vermiculite for years and did in fact have a lot of luck with flame annealing. I still make a version of my first sculpted bead designed after the Venus of Willendorf sculpture.

Inspirational Beading: Where do you look for inspiration? How does it translate in your designs?

Serena: I have a lot of books with flower pictures in them, but I think I get most of my inspiration just from nature in general, as well as the glass colors they make now. I work in my garden and grow flowers. I also go for long walks, and especially when the flowers are blooming I get inspired to get into the shop and try to create some new bloom or color I've never noticed before. That's how the japonica style flower came to me. I saw bushes in a parking lot that had masses of wee flowers and I took a close look to see these lovely vase shaped blossoms I'd never seen before. I looked them up when I got home to find the name (japonica pieris) and started working with the shape. I don't always try to be faithful to the original flower, as you can see in some of my fantasmagorical Lady Slippers.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite color or combination to work with?

Serena: Always, pinks make me happy even though I think my favorite color in general is turquoise blue (I have a terrible time with high metal content opaque turquoise glass). These days there are so many more glass colors to work with, some fantastic pinks from Bullseye glass and not just the ruby pink from Moretti that used to turn brown. It's amazing to me to think back to when all we had was Moretti (Effetre) to now when we have so many manufacturers and some really incredibly beautiful colors to work with. I think one of my favorite new colors these days is from Bullseye, an opalescent blue purple color which is fantastic over petal pink.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite bead style or shape to create?

Serena: That's a tough one. I don't think I do as far as making them, what I like is to be able to have a variety of things to work on so I make things in small batches. It's not fair to the pretty beads I make to feel irritated because I had to work all day making the exact same thing so I try to avoid doing that. Regardless, I am always cheered when I open the kiln and see a beautiful bouquet of flower beads in a rainbow of colors. What could possibly be better than that? As far as shape, I think my favorite flower to look at right now is the tulip. Simple but lovely.

Inspirational Beading: What is the most rewarding moment in your design process?

Serena: I think it must be that "aha" moment when I finally know how to do it, whatever "it" is. Getting the color right, or just figuring out how to create a shape. There is a certain amount of frustration when you first start out something new and you can't "see" or "feel" it, and when it settles down into your hands and they just start making it happen, it is a really good feeling. I've learned not to let those moments of frustration deter me from believing that I can really, truly, figure it out. And the only way to fail is to quit.

Inspirational Beading: What is the most exciting design in your shop right now? What makes it special?

Serena: I have been making a lot of Lady Slippers this month and it has been fun. I designed them a while ago but sort of let them go and hadn't made any in several years when I looked back through some of my history and realized how long it had been, and how special they were! They are a real joy to make, each one comes out different and I am playing with different colors and details and combinations that really makes it fun. I love the moment I open the kiln! Sometimes on my walk from the studio into the house I forget what I'm doing and just stand in the yard looking at each one and smiling.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any plans for new bead styles or themes in the works?

Serena: I've always been interested in different forms of glass work so I do casting, fusing, pate de verre, etc. always looking for ways to incorporate lampwork. What I have been working on this last 6 months or so is how to make cast beads, and also fused components like cabochons. The cabochons often include a lampworked element, like the heart in this cabochon, and just recently I've made just a couple of lampwork blobs that I want to put in the kiln and fuse and just see what happens. I might try fusing some holes into the cabochons to make them into beads. Not sure yet, just expanding my horizons!

Inspirational Beading: Who do you hope to inspire with your work?

Serena: Definitely jewelry makers! But, speaking as a person who likes to try just about every craft, I really would like to reach people who work in areas I might not know anything about, and who might never have considered that their work could include lampwork or glass components. For instance, I also do needle felting and have incorporated my beads into those projects. People think of beads as just for jewelry but they are so versatile and useful and add a wonderful element to any kind of creation.

You can see more of Serena’s gorgeous lampwork beads at the 2016 Best Bead Show in Tucson, Arizona, on her website Serena Smith Lampwork, and on Etsy at Serena Smith and 4GlassCabochons. Follow along on Facebook to see her latest creations and inspirations!

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading and Serena Smith

Bead Inspired: Polka Dot Delight

Inspirations have been a little bit light of late, as I’m hip deep in my top secret project. Although I’m missing the time here on Inspirational Beading, I promise the results will be totally worth it!

Today I took a little break to recharge my creative batteries, and what better way to do that than with some lovely beads? This soft and pretty collage was inspired by a set of absolutely gorgeous lampwork beads by Magdelana Ruiz of Mru Mru. I can’t resist a great spots-and-stripes motif in colorful glass!

Polka Dot Delight by mortira featuring Avalisa

What’s inspiring you this week?

Copyright 2014 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Bead Shops: Lori Lochner Lampwork

Today our guest is Lori Lochner - a lampwork artist with a flair for gorgeous color combinations and abstract designs. Her elaborate focal pieces like feathers, birds, and decorative glass shells are wonderful to behold.

Inspirational Beading: How did you first get started with lampwork?

Lori: I bought my first beadmaking kit in 1995. It was a "hot-head" type torch and some crude glass in a little zip lock bag. What a horrible experience. I managed to make some lumpy beads and put the kit away. In 1996 I decided to take the plunge and buy a complete set up and start right. I bought a minor torch, a large selection of glass and tools. At the time I was seriously into glass fusing and was a silversmith.

Inspirational Beading: Do you remember your first bead? Where is it today?

Lori: Yes, it was a lumpy black and white dot bead. I believe it threw it in my flower garden.

Inspirational Beading: Where do you look for inspiration?

Lori: I'm inspired by nature and organic forms. I adore flowers, pods, and sea creatures. I strive to mimic the subtle colorations and symmetry of the natural world. Pinterest also provides some wonderful eye candy when I'm seeking inspiration. My feed is heavy in the jewelry, textile and tribal crafts genre. Intricate patterning of tribal basketry, beadwork, jewelry and textiles in infinitely fascinating!

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite color or combination to work with?

Lori: Tough to nail down a favorite combination... I like to mix cool and warm colorations in my work to provide designers with flexibility when creating. A subtle addition of metallic and sparkle lends depth to a piece as well. Also matte and shiny. My work seems to be purple heavy.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite bead style or shape to create?

Lori: I really enjoy "off mandrel" work. In soft glass and especially in borosilicate glass. Hollow forms are fascinating in that they allow another dimension of "light-play" from within the form. When working with larger forms hollow work lends itself to better wearability.

Inspirational Beading: What is the most interesting thing about your design process?

Lori: I'm never without a sketch book. I have a little one in my purse and a simple composition notebook in the studio. Every morning I jot down the days production schedule and make drawings and notes of things I would like to accomplish at the torch. I also jot down music, books, ideas and inspirations while I'm working. Being an full time artist/craftsperson is such a solitary experience. I subscribe to many podcasts that keep me entertained while working.

Inspirational Beading: What is the most exciting design in your shop right now? What makes it special?

Lori: Right now I'm working on some functional pieces. Goblets and bowls mainly, although I haven't listed them in my web store. In my Etsy shop I think my sea-forms
are a favorite. Each one is special and unique. When using borosilicate glass there is so much serendipity in the way the colors strike in the kiln.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any plans for new bead styles or themes in the works?

Lori: Recently I have been creating some feathers and they seem to be well received. When my production work is done for the day I follow my muse and create something unique usually from an idea that has been floating nebulously in my mind.

Lori also carries a fantastic selection of designer Czech glass in her Etsy shop. You can get updates on her latest creations on Facebook.

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Lori Lochner
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Bead Inspired: Spring Swirls

Thanks to the inspirations of soutache artist Amee K., I’ve been noticing soutache embroidery jewelry everywhere lately. The wonderful swirling, curving shapes of this unique beadwork are hard to resist. There’s just something so appealing about all of those beads snuggled into the fibers.

Swirl patterns, especially organic or freeform ones, are always in style. They bring to mind some of our favorite comforting things, like tropical waves, dandelion seeds on a breeze, or just doodling while on the phone with a good friend. When I came across a beautiful pink and blue lampwork bead by Michal Silberberg, I couldn’t resist adding it to a collage. Not only does it have wonderful layers of multicolored swirls, but marching dots of glass - one of my favorite lampwork embellishments.

Spring Swirl by mortira featuring surgical steel earrings

I added some more swirling, soft, and curvy elements, as well as a good dose of stripes. I was so eager to get started that I didn’t spend much time around the shop. There are some even more inspiring designs in amazing color combos. This is one of my favorites, which features a gorgeous contrast of black, lime, and orange:

Rainbow Lampwork Focal by Michal Silberberg

And, while I was at it, I decided to make use of a favorite bracelet clipping from my round up of Pantone inspired emerald goodies. I'm a sucker for chunky bangles when looking for collage ideas, especially transparent ones. Even though I’m anti-plastic in my designs, I can't help but love the look of chunky resin - probably because it reminds me so much of glass, but in delightful abundance.

Dorothy's Lunch Date by mortira featuring lime green handbags

Whenever I see crystal clear emerald green, I instantly think of the scene in Return to Oz, when Dorothy must rescue her friends who have been turned into emerald figurines. It’s a favorite collage and treasury theme of mine -there’s something so great about the combination of ruby red, emerald green, and a chicken.

What’s inspiring you today?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Bead Wish List: Christmas Delights

They may be weeks away, but when you make things yourself, the holidays are practically around the corner all year long. If you haven’t begun thinking about Christmas and holiday inspired beading projects already, now is the time to get jolly! Here are just a few of my favorite December themed beads.

As a rule, I always go artisan made when it comes to lampwork beads,
but there’s no reason not to ogle these cute strands of Santa hats from Artbeads.com





No love for the traditional red, white, and green? No problem!
This Swarovski Elements Christmas mix from FusionBeads.com is festive but sophisticated.





These holly berry and leaf lampwork beads are almost too gorgeous to use.
Perhaps just one or two at a time? A beautiful set, created by Serena Smith.





There’s something so nostalgic about big outdoor Christmas lights.
I’m especially fond of the red, yellow, green, and blue variety.
A whole rainbow of colors is available in resin charms from Beadaholique.





I love the rustic look of this mis-matched ceramic bead set from Lima Beads,
entitled When My Heart Finds Christmas.





The combination of transparent green and opaque white in these lampwork beads from
Auntie's Beads makes them look good enough to eat.




Speaking of tasty, these lampwork peppermints by Stone Designs are so realistic,
they’d look right at home in a candy dish.

Do you have a favorite holiday theme to use in your beadwork?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Bead Inspirations: Fall Away

Today I was in a very creative mood, but even though I have a lot of fun designs planned, and some gorgeous new bead colors to play with, sitting down to bead seemed like a distant thing. Instead, I decided to recharge my batteries, and cleanse my creative palate with some virtual inspiration.

I started with a little lampwork window shopping, and found a handful of really gorgeous beads and focals. Although I had autumn colors and shapes in mind, a variety of beautiful colors jumped out and called my name. One thing that ties them all together is their abstract, swirly, whispy designs.

Watercolors by mortira featuring turquoise rings

This pretty pop of color features a lovely lampwork focal by Bindu Glass.

Coral and Turquoise Softly by mortira featuring an orange shawl

I loved the intense orange and blue combination of this bead duo from Maya-Honey.

Autumn Wind by mortira featuring nickel free earrings

The dandelion style motif of this lampwork set by Anne’s Glass Jewels was irresistible.

What bead styles and colors inspire your creative moods?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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