A Beaded Work of Art

Lampwork. Ahhhhh! Just the thought of luscious glass in a blaze of colors made by hand makes me giddy with happiness! There are so many talented bead artists out there making their own glass beads by hand over an open flame. The care and technique that goes into them makes them small wonders of the world, worthy of museums and galleries. And we get to actually wear them ourselves in glorious beadwork!! Hooray for us!

My Mom was given a lampwork bead by my friend CarolAnne Bouchles (www.madcatbeads.com) and it’s a stunner. It radiates warm browns, ambers, olives and has a touch of gray and blue. The shape is a heart and the hole goes up and down, and the surface has lots of little dots and things to make a fantastic texture. The back is swirled and layered with a pallet of colors that sing. My Mom gave it to a talented beader she knows who said she’d bead it into something lovely. And the wait began. And continued. Then my Mom said to me, “Am I ever going to be able to wear that heart??” More than a year has gone by here. I decided to put a little pressure on the artist and see if I could speed up the process. I mean, ideas don’t flow easily, and time is an issue… but a year?? I had these wonderful beads that would go well with it, so I thought I’d change my tactic and just have her send me the heart.

When it arrived I couldn’t wait to see it. What a beauty! The ideas started piling up in my head, and the brainstorming commenced. Something like lampwork doesn’t just get zapped into a piece of jewelry. You have to nurture the idea. You have to pursue possibilities and let them rest in your head for a while, you know, let them age. (Hopefully not a year, though!) Then eventually you find the right flavor of design and plunge ahead.

I decided that this heart needed to be combined with fibers and beads. I chose some waxed linen in 4 different colors and cut multiple strands about 3 1/2 feel long. I made a knot about 6 inches from the bottom and then slid the heart down the long strands until it hit the knot, then I put another knot on top of it. The 6 inches below would work as a tassel with beads, and the top strands I divided to two equal sections for the strap. I could barely wait to add beads!

I picked an assortment of beads that were small, like stone chips, pearls with large holes, size 6 seed beads, 4 mm crystals, teensy flowers, and little round shell inlaid rounds, among others. What better place to start than the tassel? I slid beads on, then placed a knot so the beads could still slide around. Then added more beads and placed another knot. I kept doing this until I got the end of the strand. In the end I had a little cluster of beads dangling from this gorgeous lampwork centerpiece. Beautiful! For the strap I continued in the same way, adding beads to each strand and then tying the strands together in a knot about 2” away from the heart. I kept doing this up the strap until I got to the top, where I tied a knot, added a toggle and tied another knot. Then I left about 2” of strands dangling off the ends so I could make mini tassels at the clasp. When I held it up I couldn’t believe how gorgeous the colors were together, how this heart was framed in a glorious combination of shapes, sizes and textures of beads, and woven together with fibers that made the colors burst out at you. Sometimes I shock myself!

If you are blessed enough to have received a lampwork bead or another amazing centerpiece bead for the holiday, or for any reason, let yourself nurture the creative process a while before making it into something. Try putting it with different stringing materials, or wire, or fiber, or leather… and eventually the right thing will be jumping out at you. And your bead will end up as an amazing work of art you can adorn yourself with. A bead of that caliber deserves it. And you’ll be happy you did!

Happy Beading!

The Bead Belle