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Chantilly
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads' Contest 2010 featuring Seed Beads
Finalist |
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Meet the Designer-Artist
Where do you live?
Southwestern Pennsylvania
Describe your artistic style.
Dramatic. I love to embellish with repeating motifs, creating a piece that's ornate, yet not overdone.
What inspires you as a designer-artist?
I love architecture, especially Victorian Era houses. I'm very interested in Victorian, Edwardian, and Tudor Era fashion. I'm inspired by nature--the colors and translucence of flower petals, the shapes of leaves, the freeform weaving of intertwined vines, the crystalline form of snowflakes.
What materials do you most enjoy working with?
Seed beads, crystals, pearls, fire-polished Czech beads, wire.
What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?
Chantilly
What inspired this design?
Lace
How did it come together? For example, did you plan it out or did it define itself once you began working?
Both. I had a plan, but once I began working, this piece began evolving into something very different than I originally had in mind.
Share Your Background
When and how did you begin making jewelry/beading?
When I was eight, my mom gave me a beaded ornament kit. After putting the ornament together, there were plenty of rocailles left over, so I began stringing and restringing them.
Who introduced you to beading?
My mom. She showed me how to string the leftover beads from the ornament kit. Everything else was self-taught.
Do you have an artistic background?
Yes. I grew up watching Mom knit, crochet, and sew, though I never learned to do any of those things well. Beading is a little like them, because I can start with a few materials and create a wearable fabric. I've been making art all my life. When I was a little kid, I was already drawing, writing stories, and learning to do beadwork.
How did you discover Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®?
From an ad in Bead and Button magazine.
What other hobbies do you have?
Gardening, music.
Beading Success
What role does jewelry-making play in your life?
Part-time career. I'm also a professional writer.
If you used jewelry-making as a way to bring in income, how are you selling yourself and your jewelry?
I've started to enter contests, and write articles for magazines.
Do you participate in any charity fundraisers?
I haven't yet.
Any advice for aspiring jewelry-artists?
Practice! |
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