Celebrate the amazing evolution of beadwork from a simple craft to expressive art. Every stunning sculpture, vessel, figure, loomed and woven work, free-form installation, and piece of jewelry shown here in glorious color photos is gallery-quality and thoroughly unique. Jennifer Maestre's intricate, swooping pencil-point bead sculptures explore form, motion, and space. A. Kimberlin Blackburn has fashioned lush Hawaiian Island scenes out of glass beads and hand-carved wood. The ever-innovative David K. Chatt has entries ranging from the pointed commentary, "White Men in Suits," to vivid jewelry. For a little humor, try Valeria Harlow's masterful "Toe Mangler," a testament to every woman who has ever suffered in uncomfortable shoes. This amazing collection is truly state-of-the-art.

"This beautiful and inspiring book gathers photographs of 500 of the most breathtaking beaded jewelry designs created in recent years. The techniques the beaders employ are as varied as the aesthetic sensibilities they bring to their gorgeous creations and include beadweaving in every stitch imaginable, embroidery, quilling, loom weaving, and kumihimo braiding, as well as basic stringing, simple wirework, and fine metalwork. Sometimes, a bead maker's focal piece simply is set in a straightforward, unpretentious, and beautiful design. Virtually all of the world's most famous beaders who make jewelry have pieces included -- including Carol Wilcox Wells, Diane Fitzgerald, Marcia DeCoster, Jamie Cloud Eakin, Huib Petersen, Paulette Baron, Sabine Lippert, Sherry Serafini, Margie Deeb, Maggie Meister, Melanie Potter, Ann Tevepaugh Mitchell, Laura McCabe, Suzanne Golden, Jean Campbell, Rachel Nelson-Smith, Eva Dobos, and many more -- but we also present work from many artists who have never been published before. All together, this extensive, international, and fabulous survey of 500 pieces includes work from nearly 300 artists from 30 countries and reveals the striking vision and ambition of today's beading community. Every beader, jeweler, and crafter will want Showcase 500 beaded jewelry in their collection"--

Beaders everywhere are discovering the extraordinary creative potential and pleasure of making unique, one-of-a-kind beads from existing beads themselves. This lushly illustrated guide. now in a paperback version, offers them a blast of inspiration, with 40 fabulous designs from today?s finest beadwork artists. Ranging from understated to pure dazzling glam, these projects showcase a range of innovative techniques. Among the standouts: a peyote-stitched Tetrahedron Beaded Bead; a Peek-A-Boo Bead, using steel nuts from the hardware store; and a cylinder-shaped Pi?ata Bead, decorated with smaller beads resembling tiny, colorful party balloons.

This volume brings together some of the best of Julia Pretl's bead collections. In this compilation of the author's previous three books, Beaded Collars, Bead Knitted Bags, and Little Bead Boxes, you'll learn Julia’s original methods for beading miniature vessels, knit purses, and classic neck pieces. Julia also offers instruction for creating four-, five-, and six-sided rectangular, square, and stacked miniature boxes; vintage-style bead-knitted handbags; and intricate neckpieces, inspired by the dramatic jewelry worn by the ancient Egyptians. Each of the innovative projects contains a materials list and instructions presented both in written and charted form. With detailed instruction and sequenced illustrations, the author provides clear, step-by-step guidance. The enclosed DVD offers a series of video tutorials in bead knitting, with all the techniques needed for the projects included (for both left- and right-handed knitters!), and full-size printable PDFs of graphs.

Experienced seed bead artist and Bead&Button contributing editor Maggie Roschyk gives friendly advice on topics like choosing bead colors and finishes, how to “audition” beads, and deciding which stitch to use to achieve a desired effect as they create necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Using rich cultural imagery from around the world as a teaching tool, Maggie Roschyk examines how decisions about bead color combinations, texture, and finish affect the finished work as she helps readers think like designers.

The Masters series offers crafters an engaging and up-to-date survey of the finest contemporary work by approximately 40 leading artists. Beadweaving takes the spotlight here with each designer showcasing his or her work. Photos throughout.

Photographs show five hundred art necklace pieces, including work by Megan N. Clark, Klaus Spies, and Marian Acosta Contreras.