SPOTLIGHT ON ... DESIGNER
September 2007
Our featured designer for this month is Mary Alexander.
Mary is an artist, designer, instructor, mother, grandmother, and member of a group of bead and wire addicts from around NJ. She has always been involved in creative handwork - she used sewing, knitting, crochet, and embroidery as she made practical objects for home and children. She focused on beading after retiring from a "left brain" career in Corporate America, firmly resolved to unleash her creativity by combining beads, wire, and unusual objects to make unique jewelry designs.
Hi, everyone!
I create bead, wire, and metal art from my second story studio in Lincroft. My studio is situated immediately above my husband's wood shop, where he makes beautiful turned wood art using exotic woods. We both feel the creative energy at this end of the house.
I love working beads into every piece I make, including chain maille and unusual twists on traditional metal work. Most of my work is done in a "freeform style" which makes each finished piece truly unique. I love to combine bead and wire techniques in unexpected ways. I start by creating a pile of beads on my work table in a range of colors, sizes, and shapes that seem to "go together" for the piece I'd like to make. As I begin beading I choose bead shapes and sizes from the pile. Gradually I winnow the large pile down to the 30 or 40 different bead sizes, shapes and colors that go into a typical freeform piece. I can't wade into the same pile of beads twice and come up with exactly the same finished jewelry!
My beading classes encourage each student to develop his or her own style. Students learn traditional beading techniques, then learn to mix techniques and add structural changes so that each person's finished piece is truly unique. Classes are punctuated by laughter and exclamations of delight as we all admire the awesome jewelry that each person creates.
I belong to a large and growing bead society, where I've served as both treasurer and president. Our members have a wide range of skills, including off-loom beadwork, wirework, lampworking, polymer clay, precious metal clay, bead embroidery, and loomwork. We all enjoy seeing each other's creations and sharing our skills with newcomers to our group. Being a member of the group allows me to share with others the happiness I've gained from making jewelry.
Using Soft Flex helps me in many ways to create strong and beautiful jewelry. Sometimes I use Soft Flex to surround a freeform centerpiece with semiprecious stones, pearls, or Bali silver. When I string jewelry and needleweave flowers and other decorative accents into and between strands, Soft Flex provides a very stable foundation for the delicate needleweaving. I seldom create fringe for loomwoven jewelry. I use Soft Flex or Soft Touch wire as warp thread because it doesn't stretch; the wire colors fade into the background; and the wire isn't pierced by the needle as I weave. This allows me to tug each warp loop alternately up and down to the beadwork so that I have only two strands - one at each end of the work - to weave back in. This is a much faster way to finish loomwork than weaving in every warp strand individually. (I didn't invent this technique - it has been used around the world for some time.) Beads strung on Soft Flex Extreme Silver 925 add a wonderful accent to chain maille work.
For me, making beaded jewelry is about fun, creativity, unique designs, laughter, and enjoying each moment of life. No day is complete without creating something new and sharing these creative joys with other artists.
