In this beautiful celebration of national bead artisans and their native regions, readers will gain a perspective on how artists’ locations can influence their work. Beaders of all skill levels will enjoy the stories behind the artists and this expansive collection of 30 unique projects presented by some of the top names in the hobby including Sherri Serafini, Amy Katz, and Paulette Baron. Each artist presents a piece, tells the story behind it, and offers how-to instructions. Projects are inspirational for anyone who loves beading.
Discover the many layers of bead embroidery. Through 14 astonishingly beautiful projects, including one from Sherry Serafini and one from Margie Deeb, Heidi Kummli guides beaders to a greater understanding of how to infuse their jewelry with deeper meaning. From animal totems, to the four elements, to the healing power of gemstones, beaders will create pieces that reveal how the natural world can enhance their jewelry-making journey.
In Jewelry Designs from Nature, Heather Powers reveals her creative process and guides readers through 30 nature inspired bracelet, necklace and earring projects. Her designs feature her beads and the beads of other well-known artists. Simple techniques such as stringing, wirework and bead stitching are explained with clear step-by-step directions. Pieces are designed with simple techniques, chain, wire, findings, crystals, seed beads and art beads in standard sizes. Readers can recreate the pieces or choose their own beads to personalize projects. Heather Powers shows readers that there is a method behind using simple stringing and other basic jewelry-making techniques to produce jaw-dropping results.
This volume of Creative Beading includes more than 75 projects to inspire beaders. Each of the book’s three sections contains a wealth of editor-tested projects grouped by stitch or technique, and includes a range of stringing, wirework, chain mail, and bead crochet projects in addition to the fantastic stitching projects for which Bead&Button magazine is known. This book also includes thorough sections on basics, tools, and materials, making getting organized easy for readers.
Experienced seed bead artist and Bead&Button contributing editor Maggie Roschyk gives friendly advice on topics like choosing bead colors and finishes, how to “audition” beads, and deciding which stitch to use to achieve a desired effect as they create necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Using rich cultural imagery from around the world as a teaching tool, Maggie Roschyk examines how decisions about bead color combinations, texture, and finish affect the finished work as she helps readers think like designers.
Crystal Jewelry Inspiration from the CREATE YOUR STYLE Ambassadors features projects from 25 of these talented designers from North America. The CREATE YOUR STYLE Ambassadors approach crystals from every conceivable angle in projects as diverse as the Swarovski Elements they’ve used. Wide-ranging techniques, from modern bead stitching and elegant stringing to intricate wire crochet, help beaders polish their favorite skills plus learn something new. Styles range from vintage to funky to show-stopping glam, all sporting the sparkle that only crystals can provide. Jewelry makers will get first-hand information, expertise, and instruction from the most enthusiastic and passionate crystal jewelry designers working today. The gallery will inspire you with projects from Ambassadors around the world.
With interest in beadweaving on the rise, Mastering Peyote Stitch provides a much-needed look into the most integral technique--peyote stitch. With 15 styles in all, beading geniuses will finally have an accessible, easy-to-understand guide to one of the fundamentals of beadweaving, brought to you courtesy of Beadwork Editor Melinda Barta. In the "Peyote Basics" chapter, you will learn the basics of creating flat peyote bands, then advance to circular and tubular variations, eventually learning to fashion dimensional jewelry pieces. Once you've mastered the basics, Melinda dives into designing dimensional jewelry pieces. Additional chapters cover combining peyote with other popular beadweaving techniques (right-angle weave, herringbone, and bead embroidery) and creating unique edgings and embellishments for finished pieces. Melinda, together with Beadwork's Designers of the Year, including Jean Campbell, Lisa Kan, Carole Ohl, Melanie Potter, Jean Power, Cynthia Rutledge, and Sherry Serafini, demonstrates a range of styles in 15 beautiful jewelry projects.
Sewing new understandings Indigenous beadwork has taken the art world by storm, but it is still sometimes misunderstood as static, anthropological artifact. Today’s prairie artists defy this categorization, demonstrating how beads tell stories and reclaim cultural identity. Whether artists seek out and share techniques through YouTube videos or in-person gatherings, beading fosters traditional methods of teaching and learning and enables intergenerational transmissions of pattern and skill. In Bead Talk, editors Carmen Robertson, Judy Anderson, and Katherine Boyer gather conversations, interviews, essays, and full-colour reproductions of beadwork from expert and emerging artists, academics, and curators to illustrate the importance of beading in contemporary Indigenous arts. Taken together, the book poses and responds to philosophical questions about beading on the prairies: How do the practices and processes of beading embody reciprocity, respect, and storytelling? How is beading related to Indigenous ways of knowing? How does beading help individuals reconnect with the land? Why do we bead? Showcasing beaded tumplines, text, masks, regalia, and more, Bead Talk emphasizes that there is no one way to engage with this art. The contributors to this collection invite us all into the beading circle as they reshape how beads are understood and stitch together generations of artists.
