Ceramic Beads on Etsy and Berks Bead Bazaar

Just a really quick post today to show off some beautiful artist handmade ceramic beads!

All of these in the treasuries have been kiln fired in their various glazed finishes.

Ceramic Bead Collection Treasury

Ceramic Bead Collection 2

All ceramic beads (earthenware, stoneware or porcelain) must be fired in a kiln to be called "Ceramic".

However, not all ceramic beads need to be finished with the traditional high temperature (1750 to 2300 degree F. glaze temperature ranges).

There are lots of ceramic bead makers and artists that finish their ceramic work by painting with an air dry medium or something that can set a lower oven baking temperatures.

These painted layers are applied, wiped off, layered, dried, and often sealed.

Here is a beautiful example of a "cold glazed" Artist made kind of ceramic beads by 

Rey of GreyBirdStudio:

Porcelain Beads (Cold Glazed) by GreyBirdStudio

More to come on glazing and firing techniques and care and use of beads with different finishes…

And this weekend, if you happen to be close to Reading, PA (USA) swing by the Berks Bead Bazaar Saturday and Sunday!

There are many artists, suppliers, and bead & jewelry educators selling kits!

Berks Bead Bazaar Website CLICK HERE.
Staci Louise (items pictured above) will be there!

Beads Beads and More Beads

by Staci L. Smith

It is that time of year again, where I make beads non-stop for a month or so in preparation for the Berks Bead Baazar.  

Berks Bead Bazaar is such a wonderful little bead show.  Yes, it's little, BUT the vendors there are top quality.  You can go there and get everything you need, and cut out the 600 other people you have to walk by to get to them (like at larger bead shows).  

Here is a great post about the show from Joan Miller last year:  The Little Show that Could

It was the first bead show I attended (where I fell in love with art beads), and the first bead show I sold my beads at as well.  So, its special to me.  The artists are top notch- plus they are plain old fun to hang around with too.  

This year B.B.B. has made a blog and a Facebook page.  You can follow along as us beady gals and guys prep.  You can get previews of what you may find there, and there may even be some artist interviews.  

I hope you can stop by if you are in the Reading PA area the first weekend of March.  I also hope you don't mind the million pictures of beads I may, (most likely will) bombard you with.

So, these are some of my newer style beads.  I am having fun adding color back into the mix.  I kinda took a break last year, and really dug into my earthy, dirty and ancient muse.  This year, there will still be ancient- but I was missing color.

I am also trying to make some new hearts this year- I get bored easily, and didn't look forward to making more hearts.  However this style with the black and colors really worked well to intrigue me enough to make more hearts!  I am smitten with them.

I also made some new owls.  I wasn't going to do the owl thing, I really wasn't........but then I challenged myself to make owls that were still my style.  So I made some tribal ones last year, and these are my newest ones.

I have also been obsessed with making earring pairs in polymer.  I began doing them for me- so that I have some easy earring assembly down the road, but I am making more then I can use, so to the show they will come!

I leave you with the view from my back porch.  We have had the snowiest winter this year in the north east.  Its wonderful, (except I hate driving in it)....but it makes for good bead production.

I am off to paint more beads, and bake more beads and paint more beads................you get the picture.