BeadArtOriginals: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Meet Karen Klomparens (giapet)

Bead Art Originals welcomes Karen Klomparens! Karen creates lampwork beads and glass art (handmade beads, fused and slumped glass art, dichroic and beaded jewelry, and an occasional stained glass piece), and you can find her work in her Etsy shop, Fire-n-Sand.

Karen is a self-representing artist, which means she designs, creates, and markets her glass art. In addition to Bead Art Originals, she's a member of Glass Artists of West Michigan, Etsy Glass Artists, Wet Canvas, and Lampwork, Etc.

Working in glass is Karen's addiction, as no other medium has held her interest for so long. Glass is a wonderful mix of artistic creativity and technical construction, and there is always something new to discover.

Karen works in a country home studio where she, her familyl, and their pets enjoy the nature that surrounds them.

Karen's work can also be found on her Fire-n-Sand Glass website (currently being revamped), on her blog, and in her flickr photostream. Be sure to visit Karen's Etsy shop to see more of her gorgeous lampwork:

BAO Items of the Week (Sep 29 - Oct 5)

This week, Bead Art Originals members are offering specials on 16 wonderful items. You can see the details for each of those items below.

thebeadedlily presents barbary coast cuff.

Receive 10% off any second item in the store when you purchase this.

AnotherCountry presents Keyring Madness.

Receive free shipping when you purchase any keyring in the store.

MistyRidgeBeads presents Caribbean Opal Crystal Bead Woven Bracelet.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

triz presents Pretty in Pink Crochet Choker.

Receive 10% off and free shipping when you purchase this.

arosebyname presents Dappled Sunlight Cuff Bracelet.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

juiceglass presents Pumpkin Earrings.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this or any other "fall" item in the store.

thejadedog presents Flat Crochet Beaded Bracelet.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

time2cre8 presents Bittersweet - Peyote Beadwoven Bracelet.

Receive free shipping on your entire order when you purchase this.

SmadarsTreasure presents Yin and Yang Peyote Bracelet.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

SalamanderHouse presents Atomic Geometric Peyote Stitch Beaded Cuff Bracelet.

Receive free shipping (or lunch at Melody's house) when you purchase this.

MAKUstudio presents Rusted Petals...Raku Pendant or Focal Bead.

Receive a free pair of earrings when you purchase this.

Malodora presents Nudibranch Bracelet.

Receive free Priority Shipping (to US addresses) and 50% off any other item in the store when you purchase this.

CieloDesign presents Turqouise braided bracelet.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

LisaPetersArt presents SET OF THREE RAKU FIRED GORGEOUS TURQUOISE CRACKLE BEADS.

Receive free shipping and a surprise bead when you purchase this and put "BAO Item of the Week" in the Notes to Seller .

Naftali presents Delhi Earrings.

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

SandFibers presents Red Bargello Hearts Peyote Cuff.

Receive a beadwoven ring in 24kt gold plated delicas when you purchase this.

Be sure to check back here next Monday for a new collection of Bead Art Originals Items of the Week!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Meet Dawn Chastain (dawnchastain)

Bead Art Originals welcomes Dawn Chastain! Dawn is the bead artist behind the Etsy store that bears her name, dawnchastain.

When you visit Dawn's Etsy shop you'll see that her banner says "Colorful Everyday," an apt description of Dawn's work. Colorful Everyday is the creative product of a hobby gone wild! Dawn has always enjoyed making things and creating with her own hand, and her beading journey began with simple stringing of seed beads while her two children were at the pool. In her quest to learn more, Dawn read every magazine and book she could find. Eventually, peyote stitch took over and she realized that her boundaries were unlimited. Her peyote stitch pieces are colorful, fun, and whimsical. They're often freeform and are meant to be worn with a light heart.

Dawn is constantly trying new ideas and color combinations. She recently began creating pieces using bead embroidery, and it's quickly become a favorite technique. Dawn frequently uses discarded and unexpected items in her beadwork, as the love of old things and tiny beads inspires her to create beadwork that is wearable with today's lifestyle. Discarded pieces of china, buttons, and broken jewelry have been repurposed, recycled, reinvented and salvated using tiny seed beads of color to create interesting wearable art.

Dawn describes herself as fun, funny, caring, inquisitive, determined, creative, flexible, patient, and flamboyant. She's married to a great guy who encourages her creative endeavors. Together they have two teenagers and a St. Bernard, all sharing an historic home in Georgia.

To see more of Dawn's work, check out her Colorful Everyday blog and her flickr photostream. Here's a sampling of the colorful creations you'll find in Dawn's Etsy shop.

Monday, September 22, 2008

BAO Items of the Week (Sep. 22-28)

This week, Bead Art Originals members are offering specials on twelve wonderful items. You can see the details for each of those items below.

Bead Art Originals Items of the Week (9/22-28)

thebeadedlily presents rose distilled necklace.

Receive 10% off anything in thebeadedlily's shop when you purchase this.

time2cre8 presents Autumn Abstract - Peyote Beadwoven Bracelet / Cuff.

Receive the matching necklace (a $24 value) when you purchase this.

triz presents Merry Widow Bracelet.

Receive 10% off and free shipping when you purchase this.

SalamanderHouse presents Moo Cow 1/4 Pint Beaded Milk Bottle

Receive your choice of free shipping or a glass of milk (regular or chocolate!) if you go to SalamanderHouse's house and pick it up when you purchase this.

LisaPetersArt presents TURQUOISE AND COPPER RAKU FIRED HANDMADE CERAMIC DOUGHNUT PENDANT.

Receive free shipping as well as 2 surprise beads, buttons, pendants or cabochons when you purchase this. You must put the SECRET CODE "BAO item of the week" in the notes to seller to receive this.

dawnchastain presents Rescued Broken Plate Pendant necklace

Receive free matching earrings and free shipping when you purchase this.

MistyRidgeBeads presents South Seas Dreams

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

MAKUstudio presents Sunset Raku Pendant or Focal Bead

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

SmadarsTreasure presents Hand Fan Pendant on a Beadwoven Necklace OOAK.

Receive 5% off and free shipping on this item when you purchase this.

Malodora presents Colorful Ear Threads

Receive a 50% discount on any other pair of earrings when you purchase this.

Naftali presents The Gentle Way.

Receive free shipping on this item along with free shipping on any other purchase made when you purchase this.

SandFibers presents Lulicade Goddess Necklace -- A Collaboration

Receive free shipping as well as a 10% coupon code for future use when you purchase this.

Be sure to check back here next Monday for a new collection of Bead Art Originals Items of the Week!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Meet Jen Maestre (jenmaestre)

Bead Art Originals welcomes Jen Maestre! Jen is the artist behind the shop which bears her name, jenmaestre, a place filled with unique objects created from pencils. Jen's work includes sculptures, jewelry, and ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals); and her medium of choice is something you might consider to be unusual -- colored pencils!

To create her incredible pencil sculptures, which are exhibited nationally, Jen takes hundreds of pencils, cuts them into one-inch sections, drills a hole in each section (to turn them into beads), sharpens them all, and then sews them together. The beading technique on which she relies the most is peyote stitch. In addition to her sculptures, Jen uses pencils and epoxy to create pendants, pins, barettes, and other pieces.

Jen's first exposure to amazing beadwork was in the Kathlyn Moss / Alice Scherer book, The New Beadwork. She was so inspired by the images that she taught herself how to make simple objects using the instructions from the back of the book. From there, Jen says it was all downhill.

Her work has been featured in several publications, including 500 Baskets, 500 Beaded Objects, The Best in Contemporary Beadwork 2002, and recently in Mary Englebreit's Home Companion and Wired.

You can see more of Jen's amazing work on her website. (Be sure to check out the portfolio, and click the images to see them larger.) Check out her flickr photostream to see both completed works and works in progress.

Finally, be sure to check Jen's Etsy shop to see her current offerings.

Monday, September 15, 2008

BAO Items of the Week (Sep 15-21)

This week, Bead Art Originals members are offering specials on fourteen items. You can see the details for each of those items below.

Bead Art Originals Items of the Week (9/15-9/21)

CieloDesign presents Midnight Masquerade Necklace

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

time2cre8 presents Trio of Triangles - Beadwoven Choker

Receive a matching pair of peyote triangle earrings when you purchase this.

thebeadedlily presents kaleidoscope Vl cuff

Receive a gift when you purchase this.

triz presents Pearls and Bricks Bracelet

Receive 10% off and free shipping when you purchase this.

SmadarsTreasure presents Spiral Necklace with Natural Stones

Receive 5% off and free shipping when you purchase this.

SalamanderHouse presents An Old Flame (Beaded Oil Lamp)

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

AnotherCountry presents Copper Canyon (Medicine Bag Neckpiece)by Morwyn

Receive 25% off when you purchase this.

AnotherCountry presents Down To A Sunless Sea (Medicine Bag Neckpiece) by Morwyn

Receive 25% off when you purchase this.

dawnchastain presents TWIST AND SHOUT in BLUE

Receive a matching pair of earrings and free shipping when you purchase this.

MAKUstudio presents Green Goddess Raku Necklace with Labradorite

Receive a free pair of matching sterling silver and labradorite earrings when you purchase this.

Malodora presents Green Nudibranch Bracelet

Receive $10 off any other item in Malodora's store when you purchase this.

MistyRidgeBeads presents Quiet Bracelet in Brown

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

arosebyname presents Curls of Gold Cuff Bracelet

Receive free shipping when you purchase this.

SandFibers presents Wide Aqua and Grey Peyote Cuff

Receive a peyote triangle pendant and free shipping when you purchase this.

Be sure to check back here next Monday for a new collection of Bead Art Originals Items of the Week!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Meet Sera Pinwill (FabulousFrippery)

Bead Art Originals welcomes Sera Pinwill! Sera's Etsy shop is called FabulousFrippery, and within it you will find... frippery! Fabulous frippery!!

Sera describes herself as a Frippist, and she creates primarily wearable art, but she also creates also other art pieces using beadweaving/embroidery, polymer, air dry and metal clays. She also describes herself as unconventional, tactile, flamboyant, generous, a wordsmith, a mixed-media artist, regal, a Leo, and as someone who strives for purrfection. Whew!

Sera has lived in Sydney, Australia for the past seven years and says she finds that city life can leave her feeling jaded. Her art is an attempt to recapture the beauty and magick of life.

An artist/teacher in the making of fabulous frippery, she makes and uses beads in the production of one-of-a-kind wearable artworks. Sera uses the best quality materials she can possibly afford, believing that her creations deserve it.

Sera teaches at the Eclectic Studio with her friend Roz Eberhard. Together they try to instill a passion for creativity in their students, using contemporaty materials and traditional techniques.

Sera's web presence is somewhat limited, in that she doesn't have a personal website, a blog, or a flickr account; but you can see some of her work in the Eclectic Studio gallery and even more of it in her Etsy shop:

Sunday, September 7, 2008

BAO Items of the Week (Sep 8 - 14)

Every week, members of Bead Art Originals select items from their shops that they want to highlight. Most of these even have specials of one sort or another associated with them, so take a close look at these beauties. Each item is highlighted below.