Art Bead Collection: Owl Eyes On You...

Even when I was little, I was fascinated by owls.  The house that I grew up in had an old red barn.  One of my earliest memories is of me running in the backyard, racing to the barn and flinging the doors open.  Out swooped an owl, right above my head.   I remember being captivated instantly and completely by this majestic creature!  My owl collection started not long after that.  One of my great aunts gave me a tiny porcelain snowy owl figurine.  I used to carry it in my pocket everywhere I went.  The poor thing!  The feet and a wingtip broke off.  The feet were lost to time, but with the help of my mother, I  haphazardly glued the tip back on.  My mom still has it!  She keeps it in a box with other childhood treasures.

That little banged up owl figurine was just the start of my collection!  I have several hundred now, each different and unique.  My love of owls merged with love of art beads, resulting in several owl jewelry components!  I thought about doing one epic post with all my owl art beads, but I thought that it'd be a little overwhelming.  So I am going to spread out the owl love and do a few different posts featuring them.

Anne Choi

Anne Choi makes some of my favorite art beads!  She starts off by reverse carving molds, pressing wax sheet in them, casting them (primarily in sterling silver), forming them, and then soldering them together.  That's a pretty simplistic rundown of a labor-intensive exactly method for creating little works of art!

Diane Hawkey

Working in clay stretches back millennia.  Luckily for us, the tradition continues and marches forward.  One of my favorite ceramic artists is Diane Hawkey.  All of her pieces convey her unique style.

Cynthia Thornton

This piece was created by my family at Green Girl Studios in Asheville, NC.  It is one of their special pieces that isn't apart of their regular line.  It's cast in shibuichi, a copper and silver alloy, and set with tiny rose-cut sapphire eyes.  Sometimes they'll list special pieces like this in their Etsy shop or they'll make them for shows.

Gaea Cannaday

Gaea Cannaday is another fabulous artist who works primarily in ceramic clay.  This particular sleeping owl head bead was embellished afterwards with Gliders' Paste.

Joan Miller

One of the coolest things to me is how different artists can use the same medium, but use different techniques to produce distinctively unique work.  For instance, Joan Miller works in ceramic porcelain clay, but the way she works is a little bit different than others.  She builds up layers of colored slip clay to produce her signature style.

Kylie Parry

So very graphic, this ceramic pendant was made by Kylie Parry.  She used a decal method to transfer the illustration the owl onto her pendant.  I love the nutty, red brown of the illustration.

Laurel Moon

Normally when you think of making metal components, pictures of standing in front of a huge fire with spinning centrifuges may pop into your head.  But this one was create differently!  Using acid, Laurel Moon creates these striking etched copper pendants.


These are just a few of my owl-themed art beads.  I hope you enjoyed this look into my private collection!

Art Bead Collection: A Bug's Life...

Over the years, I've amassed quite the collection of art beads and jewelry components.  I thought it might be fun to start up a series of blog posts that take a peek into my private collection.  But where to start?  After so many years of serious collecting, the prospect of diving in and documenting all my treasures is a little daunting.  I decided to start off small.  One might say, small as a bug!  It's summer and that means it's prime time for our tiny bug friends.  During the day, when I'm out in the garden, I'll see caterpillars inching along, beetles scuttling about, and butterflies drunkenly dipping from flower to flower.  In the early evenings, the twilight is punctuated with the glow of fireflies.  And if you're quiet, you can hear the hushed thudding beat of moth wings against the porch light, crickets playing their chirping leg violins, and the electric trilling and buzz of cicadas. So why not start with a sampling of art beads inspired by the insect world?

Anne Choi

This sterling silver barrel bead was created by Atlanta-based metalsmith, Anne Choi.  I love pieces so much!  They're inspired by little snatches of literature and poetry or motifs she discovered through her background in antiques and folklore.

Wendy Wallin Malinow

I think that Portland-based artist, Wendy Wallin Malinow, originally intended this to be a holiday ornament, but this laser-cut and printed wooden pendant is too nice not to admire all year long.

Gina Chalfant

Pittsburgh-based artist, Gina Chalfant of White Swan Illuminations, uses ceramic decals that she's drawn herself to adorn this honey-colored ceramic pendant.  When Gina isn't using her decals, she also creates hand-glazed vases and tableware based off Medieval and antiquarian inspirations.

Bob Burkett

Bob Burkett, located in California, has inspired a generation of metalsmiths.  This double scarab bead is made out of cast sterling silver.  You can see the influence of the swirling arabesques of Art Nouveau on his work.

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Intrigued by fantasy, folktales, and mythic arts, Delaware-based artist Jenny Davies-Reazor, uses nature to fuel her ceramic and mixed media creations.  This moth pendant is made of ceramic and is embellished with lovely, satiny matte glazes.

Heather Powers

Artwork and nature play a big role in the work of Heather Powers of Humble Beads.  This author and artist uses polymer clay and mixed media jewelry making techniques to express her unique interpretations.  This cicada pendant was crafted out of polymer clay.

Kerri Fuhr

Canada-based artist, Kerri Fuhr, uses molten glass, heated with the flame of a torch, to make beads like this butterfly one.  To capture this painterly style, she mixes sculpture and drawing techniques.
  

LeaAnne Hartman Edwards

Do you like moving things?  This mixed metal pendant by Albuquerque-based artisan LeaAnne Hartman Edwards is articulated!  The body is made out of a metal alloy called shibuichi, which is a mix of copper and silver.  The wings are made of cast sterling silver.  You can usually find LeaAnne's work through Maureen Henriques of Pumpkin Hill Beads.

Diane Hawkey

Hailing from Detroit, artist Diane Hawkey utilizes her unique aesthetic and artistic sensibilities to transform ceramic clay into little works of art.  This cicada pendant is an example of her mastery of the medium.

Dwayne Thornton

Speaking of shibuichi, this elaborate focal pendant was made by my brother, Dwayne Thornton, out of this unique material.  Shibuichi, depending on how it is treated, can take on deep cherry reds, nutty browns, steely grays, or rainbowy silvers.  He doesn't make jewelry components much these days, but every now and then he'll make new work.


Weren't these fun?  I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into collection!  Do you have a favorite art bead maker who creates bug-inspired work?  I'd love to hear!  This is just the first of many posts highlighting some of my favorites from my collection and scratches the surface of the hoard. I plan to add more curated selections as time goes on, exploring different themes, mediums, and techniques.