As I keep mentioning ...... (sorry for boring you) .... this style of lampwork beads are my signature in the lampwork world. This is a technique that I have tinkered with to develop a style that is unique and very intricate in it's development. All of the decoration is within the bead and every time you look into one of these beads you will see something completely different. They are extremely tricky to make and I have many beads that end up in the flower bed ....... but I also have a lot of successful beads as you can see here.
Whilst these beads look very beautiful in a side view ..... the implosion is meant to be viewed looking straight down the bead hole ..... just like this .....
Now, usually you string the bead through the bead hole and incorporate the bead into your jewellery designs with the side of the bead being viewed. When I made these beads I hoped to give the jewellery designer a new challenge in terms of stringing. In my head (there is a lot filed away in there) I have quite a few designs floating around in the ether but haven't had any time to make them. This is always the case because I get carried away developing my beads ..... striving to make more intricate, more beautiful, more colourful designs ..... I wanted to show how these beads could be strung to accentuate the intricate design within the glass.
Then, a lady called Sheena Carruthers purchased a set of my beads. Whenever I make a sale, I always ask for a photograph of how my beads were used. I was so proud when Sheena sent me a photograph of the pendant she had made. It is amazing and so beautiful!
It is such a beautiful piece of jewellery and is a gorgeous example of how you can string one of my implosion beads and get the beauty of the bead as it should be viewed. I cannot make anything as beautiful as this because my wirework is certainly not to this level but over the holidays I had a go myself if only to release some of the ideas drifting around my head ..... the creative ones amongst you will understand .....
I took a length of relatively fine silver wire. It was very pliable and needed to be for this design. I wrapped a length of wire around another length of wire (.... does this make sense? .....) to make the loop in the centre of the bead. I then created a wire wrapped knot because I wanted to cover the bead hole and create a pretty central aspect to the bead. Through the knot I then threaded different lengths of wire and twisted some around to give the pendant extra strength. Really .... I was experimenting and going where ever the wire was taking me ...... I finished off with a loop and secured the piece together with even more wire wrapping.
Here is a back view of the piece ......
You can see the wire wrapping more clearly in this photograph. I love the effect you get from wrapping wire over another piece of wire. It looks nice and tidy! I have made a few more pendants using these beads and have used the wire differently to create different effects. I have been pleased with the results but I need to get back into the studio to make some more beads as my head is spinning with more and more ideas of things to make ......HELP!
Unfortunately the jewellery I have featured in this article is not for sale but if you click on the link to my shop on Etsy, you may find a set of beads that you can turn into something truly spectacular!
Sarah xx
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