My materials come primarily from the Tucson Gem and Mineral show where I have access to beads and other components from around the world. I also shop for beads when I travel looking for local flavor and uniqueness. I utilize all kinds of crystals including Swarovski and Austrian. Many precious and semi-precious beads, various minerals and agates, coral (which was harvested already dead), lapis, malachite, freshwater pearls, aquamarine, apetite, turquoise, amethyst and too many others to mention, go into my work. All metals including clasps, chains, spacers…are either .925 (sterling silver) or .999 fine silver. The fine silver is only present in pieces which are created from Art Clay Silver or PMC which I will explain further.
One technique I utilize in every piece is wire-wrapping. This allows a piece of wire to be closed into a loop. The loop is completely closed and is used to attach an earring to an ear wire or stud. When I attach beads to each other or to chains, this same type of loop is used so my pieces do not come apart when a 2 y/o grabs it! Wire-work can be greatly expanded to become not only functional, but also decorative. When I wire-wrap, I want each circle of wrap to be as close as possible to the loop and progress to the end in a very tight, neat series of wraps.
Stringing beads can be quite simple or difficult. Most beads have a center hole that the wire is passed through. The smallest beads I use have a hole which is only visible using a jeweler’s loop -seed beads. It takes about 2 hours to pass 16″ of seed beads. When using multiple types of beads, spacers and bead caps, it can take more or less time depending on the complexity of the pattern. My most labor intensive pieces I call “caterpillar” bracelets. There are 100-250 individual beads that are each wire-wrapped onto a pin with a head. It takes about 3 minutes to wire-wrap each bead like this. For 100 beads, this translates to 300 minutes which is 5 hours. Then the wrapped beads are strung with spacers or other beads and finished with a clasp, wire ring to attach the clasp and usually an extension chain so the piece is adjustable in size. The whole process takes 6-7 hours. People wonder why beadwork is expensive and this example gives an idea of the labor involved. This does not include the cost of all of the components.
When you look at my jewelry, you will notice that no 2 pieces are alike. It would be nearly impossible to recreate a piece as the materials may never be available again.
I have never had a piece come apart, but if one does, please return all of the components you can gather and send them to me. I will recreate the piece as best as possible, but I may have to substitute something. I will cover shipping back to you.
