Meet Marianne Kasparian (MAKUstudio)

Bead Art Originals welcomes Marianne Kasparian! Mak (she said we could call her that) is the artist behind MAKUstudio; and she specializes in funky, down to earth, eclectic ceramic raku beads, pendants and jewelry.

Mak, who currently resides in Arizona, is of Armenian heritage and grew up on the East coast. Inspired by the cultures of the world, she loves anything down to earth, funky, and eclectic. Mak's work with clay began in the early 1980s, but it wasn't intil 2001 that she first fell in love with raku pottery. Her main focus has been on raku beads and pendants for her own jewelry creations and for creations by other jewelry designers. Mak says she's inspired when people love what she does and when one of her pieces evokes a feeling of inner peace and beauty for them.

When asked to tell us ten things that would give us more insight into her as an artist, Mak gave is this list. It's as varied as her raku pieces!

1. Genuinely kind and caring
2. A loving mom and wife
3. Funky, down to earth, eclectic
4. Armenian
5. I love a good party, the theatre and concerts
6. An ex bartender
7. I love sushi and green tea and I’m a coffee fiend
8. Love meeting cool people and hearing their stories
9. Drove across country by myself
10. I’ve lived in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, California, Hawaii and Arizona

You can see more of Mak's work on her personal website, www.MAKUstudio.com (where you can also sign up for her mailing list to receive word of special sales events. To get a look at more of her raku work, check out Mak's flickr photostream and her blog.

Last, but not least, here's a sampling of wares from the MAKUstudio Etsy shop: