Thea fine, beading design
Ellicott City, USA
A self-taught bead weaver, I sew seed beads, cabochons and other objects together using traditional, age-old stitches (peyote, right-angle-weave, brick stitch, and other) to create one-of-a-kind worlds of wearable art.
My inspiration in virtually each piece has come from my my maternal grandmother, Rose, who was a crafter from the day I met her until the day she died. She taught me many crafts and made a gift of a bead loom to me in the 1950s….It was the genesis of what has evolved into my work today.
Thus, for example, my current freeform work derives, in part, from her German tatting with a central motif and wandering designs that surround it; other work comes from the seaside on Cape Cod where I spent summers with her as a child.
Today, my pieces come together sometimes over days, generally over weeks or months. Central motifs dictate color and patterns. It's often freeform, but exacting work that, for this traditional type-A personality is a wonderful form of relaxation and Zen-like concentration. Hope you enjoy the work as much as I do.
Materials: seed beads, bugle beads, pearls, thread, 1 swarovski bead Dimensions: necklace is 20" around, focal piece is 5" across and 3" deep
bugle beads, seed beads and a Swarovski bead form a stylized ammonite that is nestled among seaweed and many pearls inside their similarly stylized shells (created in brick stitch). A light, woven necklace in a simple netted pattern, finished with a seed-bead toggle closure completes the airy, elegant necklace.
Photo credit: Robert Diamante
