More than just a bead continued

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Kerry

….so, to follow on from the first 9 North Devon beads was the second collection the  original 9 Cornish beads, Watergate Bay, Fistral, St Agnes, Crantock, Porthmeor (St Ives), Holywell Bay, Bude, Polzeath, and Sennen. This collection has grown to form the Cornwall Breaks.

Watergate Bay

Watergate BayThe uplifting wide open space and long white sands of Watergate Bay, contrasting against a deep blue sea. Shallow bays created by the concertina of winding cliffs.

Fistral

FistralA carnival, as Fistral comes to life in high season.

St Agnes

Rugged grey cliffs dwarf this beach, when the tide is high mighty waves kick back and send sea foam flying.

Crantock

CrantockGreen cliffs hug Crantock Bay, an aqua sea glistens in the sun.

Porthmeor (st Ives)

PorthmeorBeams of sunlight force through the clouds and cast pools of light onto the surface of the water.

Holywell Bay

HolywellGrey rocks rise out of the water circled by white crests in the cold ocean

Bude

BudeNight descends and a purple haze seems to hover, as moonlight twinkles on a black sea.

Polzeath

PolzeathFresh winds whip up the frothing waves and send them swirling crashing and spinning

Sennen

SennenThe blue sea loops into the white sands of the cove, bubbles rise to the surface of the waves.

Sometimes it is a moment in time that captures the feeling of a place and at other times it comes from colours or patterns that you find around you. These are some of the ideas I was thinking about when the designs of these beads were realized but often people have their own interpretations. Like tiny time capsules reminding you of that special time and place.

 

More than just a bead

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Kerry

Lampwork glass bead making, is becoming increasingly popular here in the UK and 4 or 5 years ago I thought I might like to try lampwork myself. I bought a gas torch, some glass rods and a book from a lady who lived on a canal boat ! I set myself up in the back bedroom and began teaching myself how to make glass beads. My progress was slow; molton glass has about the same consistency as hot toffee, too hot and it will run away with you, too cold and it will not budge but once a bead is formed the fun can start and for me it was all about the pattern and design.

The first beads I designed were the original 9 North Devon breaks. Croyde, Woolacombe, Saunton, Oysters, Putsborough, Grunta, Westward Ho! Barricane and Spekes, since then the collection has grown and become the Devon Breaks

People often ask ….why is this bead a certain colour or why does that bead  have that pattern? Taking my inspiration from the sea and surrounding flora and fauna, here is a brief description to go with these first 9 beads

Croyde

At the waters edge, the thin fans of the tide splay out over the shore. Shadows dance on the ripples of the sand in the shallows. The clear swirl of glass an embrace of the tide.

Woolacombe

Deep turquoise sea and sky, the hedges zig zag over the hills down to the sea, wild flowers sprinkle the high banks.

Oysters

Ragged dark rocks foam up the curling surf, throwing out pink oyster shells along the shoreline.

Saunton

Reflections of a turquoise sky, crystal clear water traces through the rivulets in the sand.

Putsborough

Sea fading from transparent teal to turquoise blue, dark rocks pierce the sand, splendid waves with bouncing white surf.

Westward Ho! (pebble ridge)

When the sea retreats, its work on the sand complete, it stands in ridges like small ditches they fill with water. A jumble of pale grey bolders frame the beach.

Grunta

On a bed of grey rocks the green hills scattered with wild flowers surround this small beach.

Barricane

Treacherous dark rocks stand on either side, a passageway of ivory sand leads down to the sea.

Spekes

A cascading waterfall pours and bounces down over the strata in the rocks. Bathed in a crimson sunset.

Pagan Lady Necklace

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Kerry

In 1984, a grave dating from viking times around 940AD, was uncovered at Peel Castle on the Isle of Man.

In the grave lay the body of a woman who had been buried with all her worldly goods and in amongst them was a valuable and rare bead necklace now known as the Pagan Lady necklace.

The necklace is made up of 73 glass and amber beads of various shapes and sizes, whose origins are from Briton, Europe and as far away as the middle east and the Baltic sea area, some were 300 yrs old when the Pagan Lady wore them. At the time these beads were very rare and valuable objects each one significant in its own right.

What is unusual, is that a woman should be buried with such a valuable necklace, it could signify that she was of a powerful high status or that she was a wise woman, healer or shaman.

Last year I was fortunate enough to go on a 3 day course with Julie Anne Denton to recreate the pagan lady necklace.

The beads on the necklace would have been made in much the same way as glass beads are made today, the challenge was to “age” the appearance of the beads. We did this by mixing the glass with impurities, pitting and chipping the surface of the beads and creating a distressed patina, all of the things one would naturally try to avoid !

Below are some pictures of the beads I made on the coursePagan Lady necklace 1

Pagan Lady necklace 3

Pagan Lady necklace 2

A moment in time

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Kerry

Hi, it’s Kerry again, back to my quest for the perfect bead. I am not the first and I will not be the last, for the desire to collect beads has been present throughout history, from the hunter-gatherer to the modern day.

The oldest beads discovered are shell beads excavated from a tomb in Israel and thought to be 100,000 years old.

Shell beads from Skhul Israel dated 100.000 years old

Most of it is guess work but to start with these “beads” would have been collected and worn as a form of communication for example, indicating social or marital status, some made of animal bones or teeth were worn as hunting trophies “talismans” which bestowed prowess, honour and prestige onto their wearer, who believed that by wearing these beads they had somehow captured the spirit of the animal and taken on its magical powers.

Obviously if I was wearing beads carved from the teeth of a large ferocious predator round my neck, you’re not going to mess with me but more than that if you also believed I had obtained its spirit, strength and wisdom you may want to come and be in my clan.

To believe that small objects such as these, could hold such power and meaning is amazing in itself, but it is because of this belief and the fact that they could be worn and “on show” that made them so highly sought after. The act of wearing certain beads has been seen to elevate ones status – showing wealth, prowess, strength and place in society.

In this way beads became valuable commodities, thought to bring, protection and good fortune to the wearer, they were sometimes given as gifts or perhaps more importantly as a form of currency with which to barter.

Most early civilizations would have had basic knowledge and tools to make their own beads. They would have used easily available local materials, seeds, wood, stones etc and with a growing need for personal identity they would have been eager to source beads made from unusual materials. Thus increasing the demand in trade for their own locally sourced beads in exchange for new.

Ostrich eggshell beads

Recently human remains and Bronze age artifacts were discovered on Dartmoor, amongst them were around 200 beads some made from shale and amber thought to have been brought from overseas. This find suggests that there were trading links between the area and the continent over 4000 years ago.

Dartmoor discovery amber,shale and tin beads

Bead Hunting

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Kerry

Like many bead collectors my passion and interest for beads and anything bright and colourful started at a very early age, loving my Gran’s pearls and my Mums trinkets and later collecting from jumble sales and charity shops.

In my teens my friend shared my passion for beads, so we would hop on the bus down to the Brighton bead shop and make countless trips to London to the bead shop at Covent Garden to pour over the rare and more exotic expensive treasures.

Our purchases would then be scrutinized on the journey home. Even then, it was the glass beads that really caught my imagination. I could look at these beads for hours upon hours and marvel at how they were made, their colour texture and pattern. I would string them up in various combinations. At the time these beads seemed very intricate and detailed, but if I look at them now those beads were actually quite crude.

These days my eye is more honed to spot a good bead!

I proceeded on to take a degree in Art and Design, where it was the life drawing classes that taught me to look and see form and pattern in 3 dimension. Since then I have been on my life’s journey discovering new techniques and ways of recording form and pattern in my work. I now have a highly trained eye that leads me to seek out the most decorative patterns and the most ornate textures in everything I look at. It can be exhausting!

In the 198o’s I went back packing with my boyfriend (now husband) round Europe calling in at Venice… as you do; we saw the millefiori glass and foil beads and my mind was just blown away, now we’re talking, these were beads to die for!

Hanging up in bundles outside the tourist shops and shining in the sun they were pricey but I managed to bring a few back to add to my hoard.

I have been back to Venice many times since, but never have I seen millefiori beads of the same quality, like those hanging up back then in the doorways. It is sad, but it seems that the tourist market has now been flooded with cheap imports and once you have learned the difference between a bead made with Murano glass and one that’s made with inferior glass, you never look back!

To the untrained eye however, this can be tricky to spot because “Murano glass” is now a widely used generic term for many glass beads, but unfortunately, Murano glass is seldom used in the manufacture of many imported beads which tend to be made using very poor quality glass, which will crack and chip.

Of course, you can still buy beads made in Venice made from Murano glass but they will be costly and in higher end shops

Have a look at our Murano glass Nalubead collections