Carnelian or Agate or both???

Carnelian is an amazing, naturally occurring stone. It is also a very popular bead. The rich rust orange color leaves a calming and deep earth feeling in your soul. Not to sound too spiritual there but the color emanates a calming effect. However, with technology so rapid and ever changing stone miners and their counter parts have been able to manipulate such an extraordinary stone into human kinds version of wonderment. I fully support this symbiotic relationship. Why? Because these miners are using the "scrap" of the Carnelian stone and creating a use for it by heating and manipulating its properties to create another beautiful enticement for the beaders and stone collectors of the world. While the new lab creations are not high in monetary value, they hold an aesthetic appeal with designers and customers alike, and are a bit lighter on the wallet. The picture to the left is several different forms of Carnelian and Agate. Carnelian is in the Agate family, it is a stage of Agate, as Citrine is a stage of Amethyst. The large flat rounds are Carnelian, the triangular pieces are Fire Agate which hold large masses of Carnelian, then we have the "claw" shaped beads and the round puffy beads, these are manipulated pieces of "green" Carnelian. As I said, while the Carnelian pieces that have been dyed and heated are worth less in value they hold an amazing aesthetic appeal.

Venetian Candy!

I promise I will discuss in further detail my last blog regarding trade beads. However, today I found it fitting to write a bit about Venetian beads because as we speak my brother Matt and sister-in-law Anna are in Italy relaxing and a trip to Venice is on the horizon. There are 4 large beads in this picture basking atop a small pool of little glass beads. The big "fish" are the true Murano beads hand made from Italy. The little tide pool below them are replicas that are coming out of India and China. Now these replicas are a wonderful substitute if price matters, but the art does get a bit lost in translation. While Muarno and Venetian beads may look similar very few are exactly alike, whereas the replica foil beads are all factory stamped and shipped. The replicas are beautiful but when given the opportunity to see the true Murano bead, it is hard to not select this rare breed over the mass produced "white bread" line!
I would also like to add that the Murano studio had to close its doors for a while because of all the knock offs appearing on shelves that essentially replaced their business.

African Trade Beads

I have a fondness for relics of the bead world. I have been collecting since I was 9 and have enjoyed the people as much as the beads. I used to be a buyer for a fabulous bead store and meeting with the African Traders was always one of my favorite interactions.

African Trade Beads are not only beads made in Africa, in fact few of the beads in the trade are made in Africa. The beads get their name because it is the system they were traded through. Most of the beads came from Europe. For instance the green colored striped melon beads or melon chevrons are from Italy, the bright orange/red beads are Dutch, and the large ceramic turquoise beads are Hebrew beads from Israel.

I feel it is important to mention the use of the beads. Beads were used like money. They were traded for all sorts of goods, (pelts, food, clothing), but they were also used to purchase slaves, I feel this is a very important acknowledgement. While the true trade beads carry much beauty and mysticism they also carry a great deal of history and truth. Certain beads carry with them a right or an acknowledgement of class.

This is just the portal into the world of Trade Beads... more to come.
Ciao,
KaayKay

Manipulating Metals

I am working on a metal piece right now, sterling silver to be exact. I sold the one in the picture the other day and wanted to create another piece with similar style. I never create the same piece but sometimes similar pieces. Anyhow, the piece I am working on requires a great deal of bench block and mallet use. My husband, Neil, gave me ear plugs because he thought the sound might be harmful to my ears... he was right. The ear plugs are fantastic and you can still hear regular sounds. They help get hid of the high pitch the mallet makes when it hits the metal. So my tip to you daily beadles' today is to buy ear plugs at any hardware store, they are inexpensive and really help your eardrums! When I finish this piece I promise to post the picture. For now, a picture of the one I sold!
Until Next Time,
KaayKay

Vintage Lucite!

Today I cleaned up my studio space and ordered some beautiful vintage lucite beads. I love using the vintage lucite beads because they are colorful, light weight, and inexpensive. I get a lot for my money and my customers tend to buy a lot of the lucite pieces.
This picture is a piece made of vintage lucite, citrine, vintage german glass, and green rutilated quartz. A wonderful friend purchased this as a wedding gift for the bride.
Ciao,
KaayKay