The Beading Gem

Love dinosaurs or know someone who loves them too?  Then you have to see the amazing work of New Orleans based David of DavidWhiteGlass. This glass artist makes miniature glass dinosaur jewelry and sculptures.

Julia, who is based in Moscow, Russia is the amazing glass artist behind ToutBerry.   She creates luscious glass fruit jewelry which looks so like the real thing, enough to make your mouth water!

I was like a honey bee flitting about trying to find my favorites from Silvia Izkovich's gorgeous nature inspired lampwork glass creations. This artisan has such a large and colorful collection in silviaizkovich , making my selection for this feature difficult to complete.

Silvia creates predominately leaves or if you like, fairy wings and flowers in glass. They can be grouped together for spectacular romantic jewelry designs. Or you could use just one as the focal or combined for beadwork or kumihimo jewelry.

Every designer has a unique style and that is clearly evident with Oregon lampwork artist Janel Dudley's work. JanelDudleyBeads showcases her skill with the torch and molten glass.

Some of her outstanding designs are galaxy inspired with the colorful swirls. I love how smaller glass beads embedded in her pendants seem to suggest planetary bodies.

I am constantly in awe of designers who are accomplished to the nth degree in more than one technique. Such is the case with Canadian lamp work artist, Jacqueline Parkes of gemsinbloom.

This full time lamp work designer is also skilled in enamel copper work which she combines with her glass work.  What an unusual combination. She offers her work as luscious jewelry components. Her attention to detail with such demanding flame work is phenomenal.

Laura Critchfield is an artist based in Ohio.  She said she dabbled in two dimensional art forms - painting, drawing, photography - for many years while raising a family.  But she watched glass artists work their magic for many years.

But after she spotted some lampwork beads in a gallery in Sanibel, Florida, she decided to take up the craft and signed up for a class.  That eventually lead to chestnutridgedesigns which is full of gorgeous lampwork beads.

Lamp work artists are able to sculpt in glass, something which requires great skill.  I find it difficult enough to handle treacle or molasses let alone something very hot like molten glass.

 One who has a unique style for whimsical animal art lamp work beads is Laney Mead of Izzy Beads.

Lamp work artist and sculptor, Joy Munshower, is in a league of her own.  Her amazing lamp work beads are miniature sculptures showing incredible detail.  It is hard not to overuse superlatives when it comes to her work.

She has many animal inspired designs as well as a range of female torso sculptured glass beads.

Sabine Frank is a lampwork glass artist from Northern Germany. Her handmade art beads are works of art - hence her shop name, ArtBead.

She has a delightful collection of nature inspired top drilled beads. Her signature pieces are her adorable frogs. These little creatures adorn round beads, heart beads and she has even done some with little glass crowns - as in the Frog Prince!

I am always in awe of lamp work artists. They not only work with molten glass but they manage to create truly unique beads and focals.  If you are making handmade jewelry, why not use a handmade bead? One which no one else has.

Jeannie Galt is a Canadian lamp work artist who lives in Ontario. She specializes in one of a kind art beads as you can see from her store, JEANNIESBEADS.

Lamp work bead artist, Sheila Davis of Washington, USA is a full time designer. Her shop Stone Designs by Sheila shows her incredible talent for color, texture and above all deft control of molten glass!

She sells some finished jewelry but it is her beautiful lampwork focal beads and bead sets which stand out. Surely somewhere in her inventory are just the right beads for discerning jewelry designers looking for unique components.

It wasn't that long ago when I did a feature on Modern Body Chain Designers.  Lo and behold, when I walked into the first 2018-2019 meeting of the Grand River Bead Society, there was Mary Ann Helmond  (MA Beads) wearing a fabulous body chain creation of her own!

Marilyn Ure of Lake City Glass specializes in lamp work sea creature jewelry designs.  She particularly loves making octopuses (octopuses is the correct plural rather than octopi).  Working with molten glass takes care and skill let alone having to add so many curling appendages!

Making lamp work glass making requires a lot of practice and an affinity to working with a torch and manipulating molten glass. Heather Behrendt Glass  show cases the amazing glass focals and beads by this Rochester, New York artist.  Especially noteworthy are her cat inspired designs. She explains, "All designs are drawn freehand in the flame using hairthin pieces of glass called stringer."

The Baltic Sea is the source of inspiration for two glass artisans from St Petersburg, Russia.  Lada Tazetdinova and Ekaterina Kotova are the designers behind Driftland where many of the glass pieces feature crashing ocean waves and surf.

One amazing lamp work bead artist is California based, JC Herrell.  She specializes in stringer work. The results are astounding illustrated lamp work bead art!  Just to be clear, her hand made glass beads are NOT painted nor are decals involved. She uses glass lines on her glass work.  

Japanese glass artist Satoshi Tomizu of Plusalpha-Glass (no longer available), creates amazing space glass jewelry. His work is all the more remarkable because his cosmos creations are all small pendants.  The detail is astounding - tiny galaxies with stars and swirls.