Famous Jewelry Collections: THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Thursday, May 31, 2012

THE BEADING GEM'S JOURNAL

Book Review - Making Wire and Bead Jewelry and Free Tutorials

Posted: 31 May 2012 04:00 AM PDT

There are already a number of wire work jewelry books out there. So when I received Janice Berkebile and Tracy Stanley's new book for review, I was curious what these two artisans and instructors could offer that's innovative to wire jewelry lovers out there.

Making Wire & Bead Jewelry: Artful Wirework Techniques is definitely photo-rich given that there are just 24 projects. It's very clear that this book was indeed written by experienced teachers as the wire technique and finishing section at the beginning of the book has many tips. I particularly liked their neat solution on how to mark a round nose pliers so you can make a consistent wire coil. A round nose pliers and simple rods will suffice for people who don't have a lot of jewelry making tools

Cascading Waterfall Gemstone Pendant by Janice Berkebile

The first part of the book covers simple metal work like how to make and use flattened wire (paddles) in jewelry designs. Many of the projects at the beginning could be tacked by determined beginners.

Moving a bit along, there are also a number of lovely spiral, coiled and wrapped wire projects. One of my favorites is the Cascading Waterfall Gemstone Pendant. These projects will require some experience with wire. As Tracy said in an interview, "After all, it's all about practice. Pick a technique and practice, practice. The more you have the tools and wire in your hands, the easier it will come."

One of the free pdf tutorials is for Tracy's Cascading Spirals bracelet design

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The latter part of the book is a joy. The instructors cover wire weaving to produce innovative frames in order to showcase beads and gemstones. One design I liked is the Cage It design by Tracy which does a fabulous job of forming a spiral bezel for a cabochon. The weaving is done behind the gemstone. It also works well for rings.

Cage It by Tracy Stanley

The wire weaving technique is obvious for the other free tutorial, the Wire Pod pendant. It's a great way to encase gemstones, beads and perhaps other fun objects.

Wire Pod Pendant by Janice Berkebile

The pièce de résistance is indeed Janice's Bloom Pendant, a delightful informal piece which can be adapted in so many other ways once the basic technique of form making is mastered. It's well worth the effort.