Beadmaking | Beginners to Intermediate

Lea Swantz

This class is for beginners with no experiance and those who have had some experience in beadmaking. Using a gas, oxygen burner, you will learn how to use the flame when working the glass. During the firts week, you will learn and practice the different major beadmaking techniques. You will learn to create a variety of bead shapes as well as surface decoration including pulling and apply stringers, twisted canes, latticino, floral canes, color layering, dots, hollow beads, floral beads, aquarium beads, feathering encasing and working with gold and silver foils. During the second week we will focus on your individual projects in designing, developing and complating jewelry pieces. Jewelry design, sculptural beads such as fish animals and birds will also be coverd. The instructor will work with you to help you to advance in the level of your work and on to relize your own style. It is important to experience the diffrent techniques in finding your own style. Also glass bead history, setting up your own studio, safety issues and how to market yourself be will be coverd during the class. Please bring any tools or glass rods that you like to work with and also any beads you made.

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Lea Swantz

She was born in 1961 in Tanzania, East Africa, which has influenced her love for earth tones and animal prints. Her bead designs reflect from her origins. After 13 years in Tanzania she moved to Finland. Many of her beads also reflect the clean contemporary style of the Scandinavian glass art. She draw inspiration from the Finnish forests, lakes, and granite rocks. In 1984 she moved to San Diego, California and in 1997 started working with glass. Lea moved back to Finland in 2002 where she now lives and works Her love of glass and fascination with miniatures evolved into making small works of art in her glass beads. Lea discovered that the process of melting glass over a hot flame and meticulously transforming it into a bead is not only meditative, but gives me a creative outlet. http://www.Leaswantz.com/