Learn To Bead and Make Jewelry - The Design Approach

LEARN TO BEAD . NET
The Design Approach To Learning

Educational Learning Rubric
Your learning goals from Beginner to Advanced, including Integrative learning goals

Start With This Class:

ORIENTATION TO BEADS & JEWELRY FINDINGS

- Learn how to make choices about how to buy beads and other jewelry findings, what goes together with what and when, what happens to all these pieces over time, and what the the quality is of the pieces you are using, whether beads, metals, or stringing materials, and, finally, how to relate this to design goals, and if you are selling your stuff, your marketing goals as well.

18 Learning Modules, Over 5 1/2 hours of Introductory Material
for the novice beader and jewelry maker,
as well as for the more experienced designer as a great refresher.

Then, explore the various Interest Areas listed below
with classes, kits, tutorials and articles

BEAD STRINGING
Classes (OnLine) Kits
BOOK: Basics of Bead Stringing and Attaching Clasps by Warren Feld

There is an art and skill to stringing beads on cord. First, of course, is the selection of beads for a design, and the selection of the appropriate stringing material. Then is the selection of a clasp or closure, appropriate to the design and use of the piece. This continues with choosing the strategy for stringing beads with cord, including choices about knotting, braiding, using multiple strands and a single tie-off, multiple strands with multiple tie-offs.

Learning Goals for
Bead Stringing

CRITICAL SKILLS TO LEARN:

- Knowing what all the parts (jewelry findings) are, how they are used, and their strengths and weaknesses

- Knowing about the quality of beads, and what happens to beads (and their finishes) over time

- Knowing about the quality of metals, and what happens to metals (and their finishes) over time

- Knowing about stringing materials, and when and when not to use specific ones

- Some understanding of how and when to use different types of glues

- Some understanding of tools and needles

- Understanding how to choose clasps, and what a "clasp assembly" and what a "support system" are

- Learning how to use cable wires, crimp beads, crimp covers and horseshoes in crimping

- Learning how to use needle, thread and beeswax in bead stringing

- Learning how to put knots between beads

- Learning about wires, metals, tools to make shapes and structural components, including loops and coiled loops

- Learning basics of jewelry design principles

--- Learning how the bead asserts its need for color

--- Principles of Composition

--- Principles of Form and Function

BEAD WEAVING
Kits

Bead weaving is a collection of hundreds of different stitching techniques and strategies for creating pieces that approximate a piece of cloth.

Stitches and beads. Create simple or elaborate forms using different techniques for connecting, interlocking and embellishing beads and beadwork.

That's beadweaving, and you see the results in amulet bags, beaded sculptures, beaded vessels, necklaces, bracelets, loomwork, appliqués and more. Many projects attempt to emulate a piece of cloth or textile.

Other projects are more figural or sculptural.

There are many different techniques of bead weaving. The most popular are peyote stitch, right angle weave, loom work, brick stitch, ndebele, square stitch, and netting.Bead weaving is a collection of hundreds of different stitching techniques and strategies for creating pieces that approximate a piece of cloth.

Stitches and beads. Create simple or elaborate forms using different techniques for connecting, interlocking and embellishing beads and beadwork.

That's beadweaving, and you see the results in amulet bags, beaded sculptures, beaded vessels, necklaces, bracelets, loomwork, appliqués and more. Many projects attempt to emulate a piece of cloth or textile.

Other projects are more figural or sculptural.

There are many different techniques of bead weaving. The most popular are peyote stitch, right angle weave, loom work, brick stitch, ndebele, square stitch, and netting.

Learning Goals for
Bead Weaving

CRITICAL SKILLS TO LEARN:

For bead weaving, the hierarchical order of skills to learn follows this general form and pattern:

1. Positioning your hands and fingers, so you work with them, as if they were an artist’s easel

2. Holding the needle and thread and an introduction to thread tension

3. Learning a basic stitch, and working it flat

4. Learning to increase and decrease with the stitch

5. Learning tubular and circular variations

6. Learning to split the form or create negative spaces

7. Learning 3-dimensionality with the stitch, and issues of structural integrity

8. Embellishing the piece with fringes, edge treatments and straps or connectors

9. Understanding the stitch in the context of jewelry design principles

10. Understanding the stitch in comparison to other stitches

11. Experimenting with the stitch, including variations in thread tension, choice of beads, colors, textures, patterns, stringing materials, and integration with other stitches within the same piece.

WIRE WORKING and WIRE WEAVING
Kits

Working with wires of different thickness, hardness, shape, color, materials, strength in fashioning jewelry and other objects is a very desirable skill. It takes experience with the feel of wire, how it is shaped, how it's strength can be structurally enhanced, and how it can be interlinked, interlocked and interconnected with other wire, with beads, with other materials. This "feel" will vary a bit with the type of metal. For example, brass is harder than sterling silver.

Learning Goals for
Wire Work / Wire Weaving

CRITICAL SKILLS TO LEARN:

- Understanding wires, metals, hardness, and measuring wire

- Understanding tools and mandrels

- Using tools and wire to make shapes; developing Control over how to make shapes

- Using wire to build structural components
--- Learning about support systems and structural elements/components
--- Hammering and twisting wire
--- Making coils and springs
--- Learning how to lock wires together
--- Learning how to create cradles and encaging

- Combining beads with wire

- Combining cabochons and other differently shaped objects with wire

- Chain Making

- Designing Earrings

- Designing Clasps

- Finishing Touches

JEWELRY DESIGN
Video Tutorials (OnLine) Kits
BOOK: So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer by Warren Feld

Jewelry Design is the application of basic principles of artistic expression and construction. The jewelry artist applies these principles or rules when making choices about how best to manipulate the elements of the piece.

These design elements might include:
- the Positioning and/or Ordering of things
- the Volume or Area the piece takes up
- the Scale and Size of the pieces
- the Colors, Textures and Patterns of individual pieces, and/or sets or groupings of pieces
- the Forms and Structures (identifiable sets of pieces, highly integrated)
- the Materials – beads, stringing material, jewelry findings
- the interplay of Light, Dark, Shadow, Reflection and Refraction
- the clasp assembly and other supporting systems

Good Jewelry Design answers the question:
Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention,
and others do not?

Learning Goals for
Jewelry Design

CRITICAL SKILLS TO LEARN:

1. How "Quality" is defined, relative to beads and other materials

2. What the pros and cons are, of different kinds of beads, stringing materials, clasps, finishes, metals and the like

3. How "Craft" differs from "Art" differs from "Design"

4. How to build "support systems" within your piece

5. How the bead asserts its need for color

6. Principles of Composition

7. Principles of Form and Function

8. Principles of Techniques and Materials

9. Forms and Components

10. Contemporizing Traditional Jewelry

11. Reviving Vintage Styles

12. Mixed Media Compositions

13. Adding dimensionality and movement

14. Developing Your Personal Style

BUSINESS OF CRAFT
Video Tutorials (OnLine)
BOOK: Conquering The Creative Marketplace by Warren Feld

Many people learn beadwork and jewelry-making in order to sell the pieces they make. The elective courses here provide skills and knowledges which will assist the student toward this end, whether selling in bricks and mortar settings, selling at craft shows, or selling on-line.

Learning Goals for
Business of Craft

CRITICAL SKILLS TO LEARN:

- Record Keeping

- Basic Bookkeeping/Accounting

- Getting Federal, State and Local registrations and accounts

- Developing Your Business Model

- Using a Formula To Compute Prices

- Understanding the differences among Retail, Wholesale and Consignment

- Marketing, Promotion, Branding

- Web-presence - business and marketing considerations, when going online

- How to do craft shows

- How to buy beads and jewelry findings

- How to merchandise, display and package

- Photographing Your Work

- Writing Artist Statement, Resume, Portfolio