Drawer 31: Light-Medium Blue

2 August 2017

“Something of an Asterick”

Just like last week, I am focusing on the centerpiece while I am in the blue drawer. Only this time the centerpiece has a lot of orange, so, dear readers, I must cheat. I must take the orange drops from Drawer 19 to make a great necklace. Orange and blue are at opposite ends of the color wheel which makes them very compatible…not always true in our human relationships.

My compliments to fellow New Englander Stephanie Sersich (Topsham, Maine) for her wonderful Lampwork starfish. I met Stephanie at one of those gigantic bead shows in Oakland, CA, and found her here three years ago in the small but fabulous show the Bead Society holds each October in Watertown, MA. Her starfish was alluring to me on all counts: slightly irregular shape; polka dots, so many layers of scintillating colors!!!

This is an asymmetrical necklace. They are a lot of fun to make and a challenge to balance. I often choose to go asymmetrical when I have a few stunning beads I want to highlight. In this piece, there were an excess of fabulous blue beads, none totaling more than a half-dozen. So I gave it a whirl.

Here is a description of those beads, starting from the clasp: flat rectangular vintage medium blue; two American Art Glass with lampwork glass in between. Then the most challenging section to balance: two odd-shapes with a large Art Glass in between across from one odd-shape balanced with periwinkle ceramic beads. The polka dot lampwork beads were irresistible! The only beads I had volumes of were the orange Czech glass drops, so they became the glue as well as the “pop” that holds the necklace together.

Only you, the viewer, knows if all this asymmetry worked.

The necklace is 18” and the starfish dangles 2”. The clasp is an orange glass circle with a silver toggle. Matching earrings of American Art Glass and orange drops. The set is $145.

See Week 17 for details on American Art Glass.

Note to Leticia S: your necklace is on the way!!!

Drawer 20: Yellow Jade

17 May 2017

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My Apothecary Chest: in 1994, it arrived via container to California from Hong Kong, where I discovered beading during an ex-pat assignment there. Serves as the repository for my beads. Handcrafted. It has 52 Drawers.

2017 Challenge: Create a Necklace a Week, using only the Beads from one Drawer at a time. Voila! 52 Necklaces!

Week 20/Drawer 20: May 17, 2017: “Care of the Soul”

I thought a drawer full of yellow jade would make for a bland necklace until I came across some wonderful artist-made lampwork glass in the yellow jade tone with relief-providing beige highlights! Thank you, Sheila Checkoway (Mass.)!

Sheila was featured in a homage to women glass artists in my blog dated April11, 2016. This necklace contains 20 of her beads, each slightly different, and 22 beads of yellow jade. Sheila also found the centerpiece, a blade of kyanite, on her travels in Tanzania, Africa.

Kyanite is an aluminum silicate mineral (crystal) found in the long blade format you see here. Blue is the most common color but this orange tone was recently discovered. I also purchased two longer blades that are quite orange; this centerpiece is subtle in its orange and harmonizes well with the yellow jade tones. Google raves about its amazing metaphysical properties, so check it out if that is your interest. I shall summarize it thusly; kyanite is a bridge, an extraordinary crystal that creates pathways where none existed before.

I discovered yellow jade in Hong Kong, site of an incredible Jade Market accessible to all, but you will have to wait until Drawer 49 to see the unique green color of local jade, bought at the Jade Market in the 90’s, for more info on that subject! Yellow jade is less available than green jade or new jade which is a pale shade of green.

The Chinese started mining yellow jade in 6000 BC. Confucius (551—479 BC) thought it had properties that encouraged purity, bravery and honesty. Its yellow varies from lemon to golden; I have mostly the shade you see here which in my mind is mustard seed. Its yellow properties are caused by iron leaching during its weathering stage. Yellow jade was beloved by Emperors and the Imperial Court; mostly sculpted into imposing foo dogs and pagodas.

The necklace is 19” and has a brass clasp and vermeil beads. Matching earrings. $119.

Drawer 19: Orange

11 May 2017

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Left to right: ‘S Wonderful and Lady Be Good

2017 Challenge: Create a Necklace a Week, using only the Beads from one Drawer at a time. Voila! 52 Necklaces!

Week 19/Drawer 19: May 3, 2017: “’S Wonderful” and “Lady Be Good” (Thanks, Gershwin!)

An Ode to Orange: It was accidental that I fell in love with orange and it was simultaneous with becoming a red-head. It was primarily a wardrobe choice; then a home accessory; then beads. A few years later I noticed I was presenting too many orange/coral/peach/rust necklaces, so I pulled back. Now I settle for one at a time. Never bore your collectors!

I found two interesting choices in Drawer 19, so I indulged my orange love and made two…against the better advice of mentors!

‘ S Wonderful is orange carnelian (read about carnelian in 3-22-17 blog) faceted beads, both small and medium in size, with a bold orange dichroic pendant with charming green squiggles and matching earrings. I found the dichroic at Glass Garden, made by a couple from Michigan, in Bonita Springs, Florida, at their large 2016 Art Fair when all five Kelley Girls attended and enjoyed! It is 19” + a 1.5” pendant. Gold tone clasp. Priced at $89 for the set.

Lady Be Good started with the centerpiece, as most of my necklaces do. This creative take on a pod by Gail Crosman Moore (see blogs dated 4-12-17 and 5-11-16) is sculpted in oxidized brass in two pieces. Inside is a lampwork glass thingie. Feel free to name it! I found a perfect match to the thingie in some orange vintage pressed glass melon-style beads. I went longer for a 24” length + a 2” pod with a brass circle and toggle clasp and matching earrings. $129 for the set.

This time I tried to be brief with words since I have three images, including one of me and my sisters looking like tourists under a banyan in Bonita Springs last year!

Left to right: Priscilla, Gail, Nancy, Maureen and Marilyn

Drawer 15: Peach & Gray

12 April 2017

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“Emotionally Rich”

2017 Challenge: Create a Necklace a Week, using only the Beads from one Drawer at a time. Voila! 52 Necklaces!

Week 15/Drawer 15: April 12, 2017: “Emotionally Rich”

Since I had just a few peach and gray beads, I put them together in Drawer 15 and they have co-existed over the years. While rummaging through the drawer, I was excited to find two strands of gorgeous peach aventurine to feature this week.

Aventurine is a crystal with a lot of quartz in it, mostly opaque and often green, leading some to incorrectly identify it as jade. Peach is a lesser known aventurine color which is achieved by the presence of the minerals orange mica and pyrite (aka “fools’ gold”). These minerals are said to enhance creativity.

When I found the four large peach aventurine ovals, I knew I had enough to make a two-strand necklace! Notice how the sparkle of the coppery seed beads brings out the brightness of the minerals.

The highlight of the necklace is the lampwork glass creation of Gail Crosman Moore. Gail is special to me: a familiar face at the many CA bead shows where I shopped; she is from Western MA; and she is a redhead! Mostly she is a truly creative artist as she wields colorful glass canes in one hand and in the other hand, she shapes the molten into a unique bead, all while wearing protective gear in front of flame!

Shaped like a bell, the centerpiece is peach with striations of green and blue. The bottom has beautiful blue pods waiting for your caress.

Read Gail’s website and be sure to note her shop in P-Town!

This necklace demanded a copper clasp and is accompanied by a simple pair of copper and aventurine earrings. It is 20” long. $115.

Drawer 8: Honey Brown

22 February 2017

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“Rich Varietals”

2017 Challenge: Create a Necklace a Week, using only the Beads from one Drawer at a time. Voila! 52 Necklaces!

Week 7/Drawer 7: February 22, 2017: “Rich Varietals”

Drawers 8 & 9 are labeled Brown, but I did not find a lot of traditional brown color; rather there is honey, root beer, caramel, brick and mahogany.

This necklace has a second name: Susie’s Beads. Susie Whitinghill is my beloved husband’s beloved daughter-in-law…lots of loving going around in the Beadle Family! She gave me a necklace for a special occasion and I loved wearing it…until it broke and, like the bead vulture I am, I put the beads in Drawer 8 instead of re-stringing it. I present it now, reincarnated.

The 16 large Indian glass beads of root beer and olive are from Susie’s necklace. I added honey beads—Czech glass in faceted cylinders and squares—which I repeated in the earrings.

I found a perfect large lampwork glass bead in my stash for the centerpiece! It is a cylinder bead with a brown branch wrapping around it plus abstract color dots of red, orange and yellow plus a brilliant honey-on-steroids sun image. Then, to make it more complex, the artist-maker puffed up the cylinder with a clear layer of glass and laid raised multi-colored flower forms above the brown branch! I feel so bad the original tag was lost and I can’t credit the maker.

By now you know I treasure my beads stories as well as form my own opinions of them. I have a special characterization of the three kinds of glass beads I use frequently: Venetian glass (see Drawers 1 & 2) is the most sophisticated, hand worked and well-designed; Czech glass is my standby filler, well made and affordable, appearing in 80% of necklaces presented so far; and Indian glass, the newcomer to the bead industry with decades of history as compared to centuries for the other two, is cheery and colorful. Lampwork glass stands alone since each is artist-made.

This necklace is 21” around with a dangle of 3”. Earrings included. $59.

Drawer 5: Green, light to medium

1 February 2017

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“Grown-up Stories”

I’m challenging myself in 2017 to create one necklace a week using the beads from one drawer of my 52 drawer Apothecary Chest. Welcome to Drawer 5.

This week was fun to look forward to: Drawer 5 had so many shades of green from the lighter end of the spectrum that, before I knew it, a large pile had accumulated. Pulling out four harmonious strands plus spacers, seed beads and a few accent beads was easy. More difficult but so delightfully intrinsic to the creative process was moving the beads around my design board until harmony emerged. Only then could I start stringing.

I worked until I had four strands of 9—10” on each side of the centerpiece. Then came the challenge of conforming four straight lines into a necklace that hangs around a neck in a flattering way. My model is Ada, a turn-of-the century mannequin I found in a Lisbon flea market in 1965 and put into service in 1995 as a neck model for multi-strand neckpieces. I pin the strands on her velvet form and figure out how many more beads are needed to fit each strand to where the clasp sits at the back of the neck.

A word about the centerpiece. Luminous and glowing green on top and opaque and creamy on the bottom, it is a fat lampwork glass circle which is perfect for gathering four strands. Artist-made and acquired in California twenty years ago, it found a happy home in this necklace. A strand of green and cream Japanese ceramic beads which I have had equally as long are also featured. Taking them out of Drawer 5, I noticed an old paper tag which said “Made in Japan”.

Starting in the 1920’s, the U.S. Customs Bureau required imports to be labeled or marked with the country of origin. In 1952, paper tags were mandated, launching an era of collectibles referred to as the Golden Age. The tag is attached to those beads in this necklace.

Other special beads are the vintage six-sided Italian glass canes, the square Czech beads from the 1940’s and the faceted sparkling vintage Italian seed beads between the canes.

I chose a gold clasp to reflect the warmth of this necklace. I also made 2” long earrings to accompany the vintage beads in the necklace.

This four-strand necklace is 22” long. $139.00

Week 1: Gold glass from Venice

10 January 2017

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“Romance Retold”

2017 Necklace a Week CHALLENGE: from 52 drawers of beads, create a unique handmade necklace using only the beads from one drawer at a time.

These large (1″ around) mottled gold Venetian glass beads will make any complexion glow! They are hand-blown thin clear glass with splatters of gold.

The centerpiece is a Nautilus-inspired shell in cranberry color with gold flecks which turn iridescent in the light. It is an artist-made lamp work glass bead. Other spacer beads are glass with gold foil inside. Secured by a gold metal clasp.

These Venetian beads are lovely to look at and wear, but please, handle with care since they are fragile. Don’t drop the necklace and don’t wear dangle earrings that are long enough to hit them as they swing from your ear. Truth in advertising now satisfied, don’t lust for this necklace unless you like attention because compliments will be endless! I guarantee it or refund offered!

Wear it with your own gold earrings. Title: Romance Retold. Length is 18.5″. $99.00.

OPEN STUDIOS SEASON IS HERE!

1 August 2016

Homage to Lampwork Glass Artist Beads

11 April 2016

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Local women's lampwork beads feature in this necklace with silver clasp. 20" long, $220

Local women artist’s lampwork beads feature in this necklace with silver clasp.
20″ long, $220

This wondrous necklace is sort of like a “One-of-a-Kind” (see blog dated Aug 7, 2013, “Oh, Oh, OK” for an explanation), but then again it’s not. It is an OOK if I count only half of the beads as OOK. It is not an OOK since most of the beads are artist made.

Enough of acronyms! Let us explore this amazing necklace full of lampwork glass beads made by some awesome women!

Envision long sticks of colored glass, a source of fire coming from a mini blowtorch on a stand in front of the artist, and a metal mandrel. Sit our artist down facing the fire, mandrel in the dominant hand to shape the glass into a bead, and, with her other hand, manipulating the glass rod as it heats up and goes molten. This is Lampwork Glass.

I collect these beads as I go to bead shows. Not for me, even though I am an incurable collector, but for you, wearers of my necklaces with these precious beads in them.

Identifying the artists whose beads make up this necklace is a special pleasure. Sheila Checkoway’s beads and small fat discs feature first; starting from the silver clasp, after the sterling silver bar, are two of five of her beads followed by a small fat disc, one of six by this Massachusetts native.

Then we see one of two umbrella-shaped discs by Maureen Henriques of Pumpkin Hill Beads (MA) with a polka dot circle by Kennebunkport Bead Art.

Now find a Gail Crosman Moore (MA) bead, chubby and squat with bumps all around and more bumpy stuff happening on top. Gorgeous in its excess!

Next is a modest disc (one of these gals has to do “modest” to ground all these blockbusters!) by “Two Sisters” whose shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea in CA is not to be missed! Another Henriques umbrella shading a Two Sisters disc follow.

Then three Venetian glass beads which are blown (see blog dated Sept 20, 2013, “Murano Island Rising”) in a pale grey green.

The centerpiece lampwork is a fabulous design by Gail Crosman Moore whom I discovered in a show in Oakland, CA, over ten years ago. I was impressed not only with her work but by the fact she lived in Western Massachusetts! Now she has a shop in Cape Cod at 174 Commercial St, Provincetown.

Starting up the other side, notice a faux silver bead (cheap but high style) plus more Sheila and Venetian beads, back up to the silver bar.

The clasp is another piece of work, as they say colloquially. An artful hook, although not artist-made, grasps a glass polka dot circle by Kennebunkport Bead Art.

This was a slowly percolating necklace that took years to come together. The color is odd but soft and surprisingly neutral. Perhaps it is best described as teal grey. Gail’s beads add a teal blue. My luck held out with the seed beads I found in my drawer—an interesting blueish green teal in matte Czech glass, not shiny.

The necklace is for sale. No way could I hoard this! It is for sale in my studio for $220. Add $15 for mailing and insurance and it is yours. It measures 20” long.

Priscilla Beadle

chunky bead jewelery

Category Archives: lampwork

Drawer 31: Light-Medium Blue

Drawer 20: Yellow Jade

Drawer 19: Orange

Drawer 15: Peach & Gray

Drawer 8: Honey Brown

Drawer 5: Green, light to medium

Week 1: Gold glass from Venice

OPEN STUDIOS SEASON IS HERE!

Homage to Lampwork Glass Artist Beads