The Artist's Place

Bev Haring, Beader/Bead Weaver

I’ve never learned to manage a paintbrush, but I can paint with beads.

My first big experience with beads was when I entered a contest in high school with a beaded vest. I won the prize for the most unusual design. After spending 30 years in accounting departments of corporate America, five years ago I retired and returned to art.

When I started working with beads again, the first pieces I did were simple necklaces featuring a stone cab with beads worked around it.

Just working around a stone was interesting, but soon I wanted to make pieces that were more complex. The first piece where I experimented with other forms a piece called Seascape. It is a net square in greens and blues, embellished with a lamp glass fish, pearls and shell shaped glass beads.

Bead embroidery is my favorite way to “paint”. I have done several pieces using layers of bead embroidery. Examples of these pieces are Purple Haze and Blues in the Night.

Some of my pieces combine both bead embroidery and off loom weaving techniques. Examples of these pieces are Polar Dreams, Moonshine and Sunflowers.

Each piece I make creates new challenges and opportunities for me to learn new techniques. I never get tired of playing with the amazing colors of the many combinations of beads.

Most recently I have begun to work on pieces that will be put in frames. Current projects are titled Mother of God Icon, Farm at Sunset and Birds in the Mist.

Pictures of many of my pieces are on my web site: www.Esmerldas.com, and I have a studio blog where I discuss my ongoing projects http://esmerldas.blogspot.com.

I welcome special and custom orders as an opportunity to help my customer realize owning a piece of art that they envision.