Shop Feature! Cath Thomas of SamohtaC

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Cath wearing "The Leaf" - 3D Peyote Shapes and Diamond Weave Collar

You seem to have a real passion for beadweaving and bead embroidery. What first brought you to the world of beading?
My mother's good friend and art-therapist, Berthy Bijlard, introduced me to beads and cross-stitching when I was about 14 or so. I continued to do cross-stitching because it was easy to find that material. Only as an adult, I got comptelely hooked on beadweaving with seed beads and bead embroidery. That was in 2004, when I saw the beautiful Bead Dreams contest pieces. Before I even could buy beads, I drew my own "Dream piece", and searched the web to learn everything from the materials to all the techniques. Where I am living there was nobody doing this, no shops, no workshops, nothing. There was also no translation for these things in French either. Eventually, I learned the basics and evolved by learning to solve problems by myself.

Neytiri's - Scored 1st place in the FMG seed bead beading contest 2016 "Bib and collar style" category.

I understand you are a bit of an expert at Diamond Weave. You even wrote a book in collaboration with the inventor of the stitch. Is this your favorite stitch?
All stitches have their advantages and for that, I love them all. However, some please me more than others. If I had to choose only one stitch to bead with, I'd have a hard time chosing between Peyote stitch, my first & much loved stitch, and Diamond Weave. There is so much one can do with DW and still so much to discover with it.

What are your favorite subjects when designing your pieces? You seem to draw inspiration from both the natural and geometric worlds.
Mother Nature and Geometrics are indeed my main inspiration. My left brain is the control freak attraceted by geometrics and my right brain is a poet in love with nature's splendor and all living beings. I try to marry the two of them, which is much harder than you may think. I essentially want to speak with beads (because I like to tell stories) in a way that blends geometric and organic, like the flaming cuff Embers, or the leaf that can be seen in my necklace "The Leaf" created in negative space thanks to the little Trapezino bezels. I am also quite happy with my petal to pod creations, like Neytiri's and a piece made for a charity, the Jane Goodall Pendant. I also  like bead embroidery for it allows the use of a variety of non-beady materials which can also be very inspiring, like the images, metal stamps and perfume bottle used in "Seduction".

Embers Cuff - Partially Zipped All-Wing Bangle

What made you move on from beading to selling and finally teaching and tutorial writing?
In 2006, I subscribed to a francophone forum. It appeared that in the seed beads section there wasn't as much to learn as I hoped, but that I had knowledge to transmit. I was particularly active in the hints and tips section, which resulted in some beaders calling me the "MacGyver" of beading (LOL!). I didn't sell patterns back then, I just wrote simple tuts and shared them for free, which allowed me to learn how to use software to explain things. I wish that tutorials for tutorial writing had been available back then, but I developed my own style, which imho is not so bad. The first pattern that I wrote "for sale" in 2009 was in fact a complimentary pattern I sent to each person donating for charity when the Fukushima disaster happened. Only when I had to stop working for health reasons and my income dropped significantly, I decided to sell tuts to pay for beady supplies.

Mokuren - Scored 2nd in the Bead Mavens Vernal Visions Contest

 

 Your piece "Souls" is incredible (and I must admit, the tutorial is on my wish list!) You describe it as the most mindful pieces you've ever beaded; can you tell us a bit more?
Thank you! Souls is very special. It is an allegory of the walk of life or lives, and one of my first 'petal to pod' creations. I think that my left and right brain did a great job together. It tells the story of souls, which never die, but go through stages of development. I made pods with a rainbow of colors on the inside. A soul is in a body like a seed resides in a pod, and gets liberated when time has come. The colors are the chakras we have in us, like a rainbow, a stairway to heaven. Here and there a soul falls out of its pod, sometimes it is too much in the green or blue or red zone... Each color is of equivalent importance. To become enlightened, every step needs to be made, experienced. Therefor necklace has a very organic look, curling, moving, making tours and detours. The soul which has experienced everything and evolved to a miraculous level of consciousness has not one specific color, it has them all. Pure light is made of all colors, not none. The crystals at the far end of the necklace represent boddhisatvas, the enlightened.

And finally, on the inside of the necklace, there is a long 'diamond' (cupchain) path, that cannot always be seen. Things may sometimes seem to go awfully wrong, but whatever happens, wherever you are, the walk is paved with diamonds. They are not always visible, but they are there, all the way long, all the time, at every step. Because life is glorious. 

 

More details about Souls can be found here: http://samohtac.blogspot.ch/2013/06/rainbows-of-color.html

Also, there is a "Petal to Pod" group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PetalToPod/

Where do you prefer to do your beadwork?
Anywhere in a calm place, in a good chair with arm rests near a window, but not in the sun. I would love to bead outside, or in public, but my light sensitivity prevents me from doing that.

Tribute to Jane Goodall - A double-sided pendant / Sculpture / Toy - The doll's skirt protects the gorilla.

I understand that you blog about your beading adventures. Does writing about your beadwork help the creation process?
No, the creation process results in writing about it, in particular if it was a long or special work. I like to share my experience with other people who would like to learn about it as much as I like to read about the WIP of other beaders, like Marsha Wiest-Hines. This is how we can learn from one another despite the distance between us. It is also a way to tell people what they can do with what I teach in my tutorials if they take the step of exploring further and improvise.
 
What tips or advice can you share that has helped you lead such a successful beading career? I don't consider my beading activity as a career, but Maya Angelou said one day:

'Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.'

and maybe that is what makes my beading a successful journey.

 

Seduction - Finalist in the FMG seed bead beading contest 2016

 

Interview with the January Challenge "Rising Star" Winner

Lea Paličková is the 2017 Rising Star!

Congratulations on winning the Rising Star challenge. Your necklace is spectacular! 

First if you could provide a little background such as where you are from or live now and what your work or career is. Your Etsy shop profile mentions you study geography, are there any favorite places or influences that sparked your interest in that subject?

I come from Czech Republic, the home of well-known Czech glass beads. I’m just a regular girl that grew up in the country. I came to the „big city“ after getting accepted to the University, where I chose to study nature and geography. I wouldn’t say that anything specific led me this way, I’ve been just interested in all the things around me. I’ve always been interested mainly in the abiotic part of nature, and I’m still fascinated by weather… And now, when my university studies are over, this subject of knowledge makes my living. And what do I do when I come home from work? Beading, of course…

In your shop you offer many wonderful pieces of beadwork. How long have you been beading and how much time weekly do you devote to your craft?

I started with beading when I was a young girl, when I was stringing my mom’s and grandma’s beads. As I said before, my country is one of the biggest beads producer. Almost in every house you can find in the attic a huge chest full of old beads… So, it was easy to start playing with beads. I started beadweaving after years, approx. in 2009. This technique charmed me so much that even now I am able to spend most of my time beading. It’s hard to say how much time a week I spend beading, it depends on many conditions. I would say I spend with beading about 10-15 hours a week.

Do you have friends or relatives who also work with seed beads, or are there any beading societies or groups you belong to?

No one from my family is beading. If someone beads something, the initial impulse comes from me. Quite often my sister-in-law asks me to bring some beads along, because she wants to do something for herself. She uses my tutorials to create some floral jewelry.
On the other hand, beading is quite popular in Czech Republic and I’ve met a lot of interesting and inspirational people thanks to beading. Beading societies, like you can know from US, aren’t common here. Here it’s more a question of arranging meeting bead friends for a dinner or a glass of beer and then beading together all night long.


 Your work shows a wonderful interpretation of nature, is that the main source of your inspiration?

Yes, mainly I’m trying to find my muse in nature. This is the reason why I enjoy working with nature materials the most. I’m not good at using shiny Swarovski crystals, but psst don’t tell anybody. When I walk outside, I’m trying to perceive all colors and shapes of nature surrounding us. My most favorite season of year is definitely autumn. You can find everything in it: beautiful color transitions and often unsuspected color combinations, mysterious morning fogs and first hoarfrost as well. Anywhere around us is a lot of inspiration, you just have to keep your eyes open.

What artists or bead workers do you admire or feel have influenced your work?

I’m trying, as I always did, not to get influenced by other authors. Because of it, I use Pinterest as little as possible. I would like my work to reflect just my ideas and moods
However, there is a lot of beaders that I adore greatly. One of many is for example Kinga Nichols with her color and material combinations, Apollinariya Koprivnik with her sparkling treasures, queen of sea urchins Joanne Zammit and I can’t forget to mention my best-bead-friend Denisa Kangas

What are some of your favorite materials to work with?

I love to work with any natural material. Gemstone cabochons, druzies, any kind of fossils, pearls and shells, wooden beads, ceramics and so on… I rather work with irregularly shaped material. Glitter and perfectly polished surfaces gets me a little insecure, because I’m not always sure how to work with them to get the perfect result. I really love combination of matt and gloss and Czech glass beads.

Your patterns in your shop are lovely. I especially like the way you use the two holed beads in your designs. What are some of the joys you have experienced or challenges you have faced selling on Etsy?

The greatest joy is when you receive positive feedback of your work. Like when customer send me a picture of finished piece of jewelry made with my tutorial.

Where do you see your work with bead weaving evolving in the future?

My big dream is to have my own studio – room just for me and my craft passions. I hope it will be soon, because we are planning reconstruction with my boyfriend and I hope he will be kind enough to let one room for me in our future home
Anyway in this „dream studio“ I would like to have a craft oven for making ceramic, glass or even copper enamel. I would love to create my own components for my beaded jewelry.


Interview by Patti Parker

August 2016 'Rainbow' Challenge Results

Congratulations to the 1st place of the team vote, Ann of Francescas Fancy, and 1st place winner of the public vote Daiva of Daidija.

TEAM VOTE RESULTS:


Rainbow of Flowers Necklace – FrancescasFancy – 10 votes (16.4%)

Glass Rainbow Necklace – Svetush – 9 votes (14.8%)
 

Rainbow and Gold Sun Cuff Bracelet - beadn4fun – 6 votes (9.8%)

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PUBLIC VOTE RESULTS:
 

Bead Crochet Necklace with Geometric Pattern – Daidija – 220 votes (37.8%)
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Glass Rainbow Necklace– Svetush – 211 votes (36.3%)
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Rainbow Garden Floral Cuff – OfYourLove – 24 votes (4.1%)

Well done to the winners and all who participated and thanks to everyone who voted!

July Challenge Winner Interview: Svetoslava Todorova- LuckyDesignCrafts

Svetoslava Todorova is the winner of the July Challenge 'Mystical, Mythical and Magical Creatures'. We asked her to tell us a bit about herself.

See all the beautiful original submissions!

Check out Svetoslava's Shop

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to all Team members for being so kind with me and to beg for forgiveness - English is not my native and if there is something unusual, please be lenient.
I've been born in ancient town Plovdiv - the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe.
Plovdiv is a beautiful small town in central Bulgaria. Its unusual very eventful history has left many valuable architectural monuments - Ancient Theatre, Roman Stadium, the Renaissance complex "Old Town" etc.
 
I love my hometown and where do I lived in the world, I always go back with love and warm memories of this little romantic place under the sun - home to many artists, musicians, writers ...
Now I'm living in London with my beloved family.
I finished my education with two master's degrees - Master of Music in Pedagogy and Performance - Classical piano.
 
Although I no longer practice my profession as a musician, for me the classical music will remain forever a fundamental and very important part of my life. I can't do anything without music - whether working or resting, there is always music. Very often through music I manage to visualize my ideas.

Long, long ago, as a child in the home of my grandmother I found an antique beaded bracelet, belonged to one of my ancestors. The bracelet was in poor condition and my grandmother told me that was made sometime in the 18th century. That was my first encounter with beads. But it all started decades later.
 
One day, three years ago, surfing the net, I came across a very beautiful necklace of beads. The author was Albena Petkova. Now I know that it is one of the most prominent masters, but then for me it was a miracle. So I started to follow the work of the beadweaving artists .
Actually I started working with beads at the beginning of this year. The start, of course was hard - did not know and could not anything. But it was so interesting and curious how a pile of beads can be obtained such amazing things. That is all. My curiosity turned into love, love has become a passion.
For me, as for every artist the greatest challenge is his latest work. I am a huge lover of Fine art. Currently I try to reproduce series of necklaces, borrowed from the paintings of Renaissance artists.
The challenge here is that a different material must achieve a similar effect. The exceptional skill of old masters in working with shade and their approach to detail for me has always been something special and difficult, because the paint must be replaced with beads.
The are three artists with very special part in my heart: Albena Petkova, Joanne Zammit and Nadia Gerber. Three different artists, three different styles, emotions, approaches to the material.
Lately I'm trying to build my own online shop: luckydesign.co.uk/, but it is not finished yet.
 
Warm hugs to all

Svetoslava/Sveti/

Interview with Betty Cox of UniqueandMacabre

Step into the world of Betty Cox and her Etsy shop, “UniqueandMacabre”, open since 2012, and you will certainly feel like a kid in a candy store.  The beautiful colors and the intricate textures of her work both invite and excite the eye.  While the nature of some of Betty’s art pieces may shock and disturb the squeamish, the macabre themes are very interesting and thought-provoking.   Her pieces do what art should do; they inspire, and evoke conversation.  As you browse through her shop, Betty’s creative use of contrasts and her attention to detail, grabs you and holds you until you have viewed every single listing.  

Betty was an artist at a young age and then music took over.  She is a trained Cellist with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance but it was a summer job as a nurse’s aide that led her to become a Registered Nurse, then later she obtained a Master’s degree in science / maternal child/ midwifery from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is currently practicing as a Certified Nurse Midwife in San Diego at Kaiser Permanente.

Betty started her venture in jewelry making by stringing beads, then creating polymer clay beads and resin jewelry.  Later she was inspired by a good friend, who created lamp work beads and made beautiful jewelry using seed beads.  Betty’s first seed beaded piece of jewelry was a Carol Wells
 “Cha Cha” bracelet!  She loved figuring out the colors, stones, gems and textures, it took her about 4 months to complete because she wasn't used to working with tiny beads!!!     

Betty has been beading for about 7 years and she joined the Etsy BeadWeavers Team because she was inspired by, and had respect for all of the spectacular bead artists on the team.  It was also important to her that she could be as unique as she wanted but still accepted by the team.

She markets her jewelry primarily through her Etsy shop, but also word of mouth, local shows, teams, and contests!   

You are a certified Nurse Midwife and a former musician, which one of those professions fueled your interest in the macabre? The artistic/musician side most likely influences my creations.  The macabre in my creations is probably fueled by my childhood.  I’m fascinated with things that are a bit scary and things that aren't real, such as dinosaurs, monsters and " things that go bump in the night" 

 What is your design process when creating a new piece?

 I base my creations on a focal piece. I glue them to stiff material I usually have either a pendant, brooch or bracelet in mind and proceed to select colors, textures.  I use a white marker for lines that flow around the focal piece, then I start creating and my pieces generally evolve.  

How are you able to balance color, texture, and the macabre in your pieces? 

 I do love to mix the beautiful with the macabre.   I love color and texture so my pieces that include daggers, stones, drops give it more character in my eyes.  I think of my work like a painter or sculpture so I try to include the macabre along with beauty in mind

Is there a story behind the frequent use of “eyeballs” in your work?

There is no story behind my eyes but they often develop as I create.  Even I'm surprised when I'm in the middle of creating and by the outcome!!!  

 Which bead artists inspire you?

I’m inspired by Sherry Serafini, Heidi Kumili and Laura McCabe.  I was fascinated by their unique, colorful styles! The prosthetic glass eyes that Laura used were fascinating to me and couldn't wait to find some!  

Who is your customer?
My customer is often one that either loves the unique, kind of weird or different style.  I once had a customer that wanted 14 custom pieces.    

What has been the most challenging part of owning an Etsy shop?

The most challenging part of owning an Etsy shop is keeping up with posts of other artist’s work.   I'm often distracted throughout the day because I want to see and like everything!!  I also want to keep myself busy creating my own work to keep my viewers and customers interested.

What are your tips or advice on maintaining an Etsy shop?

Tips and advice to maintaining my Etsy shop, is to look every day and like other artist’s work, because the feedback I get on my own work inspires me.  Look at what sells and what doesn't and think of how your work stands out from the rest.  My best advice is don't be afraid to explore something different.

The work of Betty Cox is proof that beauty is in the “eyeball” of the beholder.
To see all of Betty’s beautiful creations please visit her shop at:  https://www.etsy.com/people/Booop56

To see more of Betty’s beautiful work, visit the links below.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/UniqueandMacabre 
https://www.facebook.com/UniqueandMacabre

May & June Challenge Winner Interview: SunShine Sturtz- OfYourLove

See all the beautiful original submissions!

May & June

Check out Sunshine's Shop here

Congratulations on winning the May and June challenges. Your bracelet and necklaces were a wonderful realization of the themes.

I see you have a fondness for the whimsical in your jewelry. How do you come up with your designs?

My designs are almost always inspired by my components. I love components!! I rarely set out with very much of a plan other than a few key components laid out then it grows from there. This can sometimes backfire because sometimes I get many hours put in in and then I will want to do something else that wont work because of bad planning. This does however push me to get creative sometimes: "how can I make this work without taking it apart."

I love your May challenge piece, it interpreted the theme beautifully in a way that wasn't overdone. The energy of the gemstones make it seem magical. I found a few rough gemstones in Colorado when I was there years ago. Do you ever use found stones or objects in your work?

I have a collection of found objects, I have a collection of all kinds of things that I see as "beading components" that I will "use someday"

Your jewelry is bold, colorful and fanciful, and carries well over distance. do you have a theatrical background, or other training in the arts?

I don't have any "training" in any of the arts. I was in a few shows during my first attempt at college. I love theater, and I would get into it again if I had the time and/or there was community theater where I live.

The materials and style of jewelry sometimes encourage a first hand look. Do you have any other outlet like galleries or craft shows that allow people to see your work in person, and possibly drive sales to your Etsy shop as well?

I am a terrible sales person! Once in a while I bring out my dog related pieces to a dog show, but I rarely even attempt to sell things. I am not a very good business woman! I would rather invest the time in making more things. As a result though, I don't sell much. My next step in that kind of growth is to learn better photography.

Do you have a favorite stitch to use or type of jewelry to make?

I am addicted to Bead embroidery now. There are no rules. I can use any components, any beads, and it is very forgiving... there are no "mistakes"

How long have you been making jewelry, and is it your main focus in crafts or life?

I started playing with beads when I was about 12. I had recently acquired a step sister who was about my age, and she taught me the basic brick stitch earrings she had learned. Then for my birthday she and my step mom gave me my first little red toolbox with my first needles, and pliers and a few beads. But I only discovered BE about 5 years ago and that was the game changer. I wouldn't even say jewelry is my main focus with beads. I like to make "bead paintings" and I have big ambitions of making something sculptural soon! It's not my MAIN focus in life... It is probably tied with Newfoundlands. (hence some Newfy pieces in my beadwork.)

What are some of the challenges and joys you have faced with respect to your jewelry making and Etsy shop sales?

I barely have any sales in my etsy shop. Actually, the only reason I even opened one was to participate in the challenges. I think I have only had 6 sales since opening. But again, I am bad at marketing. The challenge has been to not worry about sales, and trying to make something that someone might buy. When I am driven by sales, I just get depressed that my stuff isn't selling, I tell myself "nobody likes my stuff." Instead, I just make things that _I_ like to make. that I WANT To make... if it sells, cool, if not, it is just added to MY collection. :)

Who is your favorite artist, be it in beads, painting or even music?

I am lucky to live near, and consider myself to be friends with two of the BEST bead artists in the universe: Kinga Nichols, and Heidi Kummli. Heidi was my first B.E. teacher, I am amazed by everything she makes. She has a knack for finding really unique components. I was honored to be invited to her first Shaman Bead Workshop, at her house which was amazing!! A very small group (5 I think) and two days spent up at Heidi's house in the most beautiful location!! (to me anyway, because I am a 'Mountain Kid') I met Kinga shortly after taking up BE, and I saw that she lived in the same town as me. at first I was intimidated by her awesomeness! Her work is incredible! The colors!! The textures!!! the critters!!! Turned out she was also simply amazing as a person!!!

And my sister. She is my favorite artist. She can do anything. She often helps me with designs, has made several components for me when I can't find exactly what I want, she makes it for me!! She can draw better than I can, so she has often sketched out my bigger ideas for me to work with. She is actually my favorite person in general. :)

Is there anything else you would like to add or say to the EBW community?

Thank you all for being awesome!!! The people I have met in the bead community, the friends I have made in this community are all awesome! Nice! Supportive!!! It's a fantastic loving community!!! THANK YOU !!!

Entries for April's "Pompeii" Challenge

Here are the entries for this month's "Pompeii" challenge!  VOTING WILL BE OPEN FROM APRIL 9TH UNTIL APRIL 15.  Please choose your favorite entry from the images or links below, then select your choice in the blog poll that will appear on the right sidebar during the days that voting is open.


Click on the image mosaic or links below to learn more about each entry and see larger, detailed images of each piece. 

PLEASE VOTE ONLY ONCE FOR YOUR FAVORITE ENTRY.

 

1. Violet Lampwork Glass Amphora Necklace  - beadn4fun

2. Vesuvius Descending Necklace - luskstudio

3. Colors of Pompeii Cuff Bracelet - BetsysBeadworks

4. Pompeii Inspired Coil Bracelets - EsmerldasStudio

5. Pompeii Necklace - HannahRachel

6. Lava Neck Piece - RebelSoulEK

7. River of Lava onto Roman Greatness - SabinaJewel

8. Gemstone Statement Necklace - HumdrumAuguries

9. Victorian Cameo Necklace - enchantedbeads

10. Pompeii Soutache Necklace - CiraDesign

11. Pompeii Fresco - SpringColors