OLYMPIA
Retreats
Betty Stephan
Betty Stephan is a highly regarded artist in the world of beads and is best known for her exceptional talent in creating beautiful bead embroidery projects. She has been recognized and awarded in various competitions such as Bead Dreams, Bead Star, and Battle of the Beadsmith. Her exceptional work has also been featured in several books and magazines, where her artistic talent and impeccable eye for details were recognized and appreciated throughout the world.
Betty's beading classes are suitable for everyone, regardless of skill level. Her extensive experience in beading and teaching, combined with detailed, illustrated instructions, ensure that all students can successfully complete her stunning class projects.
One of the best things about Betty's classes is that they are held throughout the year, making them accessible to anyone, regardless of location. Whether you're in Detroit, France, or anywhere else in the world, you can benefit from Betty's extensive knowledge and experience, and her warm and approachable teaching style.
Beki Haley
Beki Haley has been in love with beads for over 50 years now. She was introduced to the amazing art form of seed bead weaving by her grandmother when she was a child. That early start in exploring the intricacy and fine detail that can be attained with seed beads has stayed with Beki throughout her life. Even as a young teen, Beki loved teaching others all the beautiful things that can be created with beads. She has over 36 years of teaching experience in several different venues from large auditorium settings to intimate one-on-one classes and everything in between.Training as a classic silversmith at a young age gave Beki an appreciation and understanding of the art and beauty of jewelry design. Beki uses those formal skills to teach the technical aspects of jewelry design. In her classes, the students learn the importance of attention to detail and craftsmanship while exploring their natural creativity. During any stressful time in her life, Beki turns to her beads for comfort and calm. The meditative action of beading is the perfect tool to bring peace and joy to her otherwise busy and chaotic life. Sharing that joy by teaching others how to create with beads is a blessing beyond measure.
Kinga Bledsoe (NIichols)
Kinga Bledsoe was born in 1980, in Hungary. At 19, she packed up her life in a backpack and moved to the US. One way or another Kinga has been always making things, which started turning into a career when she was painting murals at the time she lived in New York. The murals were fun, but she did not feel like painting was her calling. Eventually she picked up a bead and Button magazine in 2007, found a bead embroidery project, and slowly but surely the obsession took over. After that first project, she started creating her own designs and quickly found her own distinctive voice that allowed her to translate her imaginings into beadwork. Kinga is always brainstorming, and her imagination provides an endless supply of fanciful ideas that she translates into bead embroidery. Her work first got noticed in the first Battle of the Beadsmith, quickly followed by her being a BeadDreams finalist in 2013 and getting 3rd place in the same competition in the Swarovski category in 2014, and a book feature in Marcia Decoster Presents, 2014. In 2015 she won first place in the crystal category in BeadDreams. She has done a number of instructional bead embroidery videos for Interweave publishing in 2016 and 2017, and has been featured in magazines in the US and Europe.
Helena tang-Lim
Helena Tang-Lim started beading in the mid-1990s so that she could make a pair of beaded shoes for herself. This sparked a great passion for beads. A predominantly self-taught artist, Helena specializes in creating tiny seed bead jewelry, accessories, and home decor. She uses many off-loom techniques to create these colorful, exquisite beaded art objects.
Helena decided to leave her job and fulfill her dream of owning a bead shop. She creates exquisite beaded jewelry and objects that have been honored with many international awards. Her work in beaded wearables often resembles fine haute joaillerie, which she loves. Inspired by the colors and cultures of Singapore, many of her works incorporate the accents and nuances of this country. She now shares her work through teaching and selling pre-packed kits and instructions so that others can create and own one of her beautiful beaded creations. Her dedication to her craft and unique artistic vision have made her a respected and admired figure in the beading world.
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Lisa Pavelka
Lisa Pavelka has worked in the creative world professionally for over thirty years. She has won several industry awards and is recognized as an expert in numerous mediums, including polymer clay, resin, metal clay, wire, and crystal components.
She has been a featured artist on several television networks, has written dozens of magazine articles, and is the sole author of four books on polymer clay.
She has been sought out as a designer and consultant by several companies, including Beacon Adhesives, Signature Crafts, Swarovski Crystal, Staedtler, Fire Mountain Gems & Beads, Fiskars, Kemper Tools, and Clearsnap.
Lisa has led over a dozen creative cruises on her own and has been a guest instructor on several others. Aside from teaching, consulting, and demonstrating throughout the United States, she has also worked in many countries around the world.
She is an experienced designer of her own product line and a developer of groundbreaking creative techniques and applications, and many people consider her an “influencer” in her field.
Gail Crosman Moore
There is a richness on many levels regarding Gail's rudimentary forms of inspiration. Her pieces come from where biology and botany might meet time travel. Seeds, pods, bones, cocoons, shells, cells, and eggs capture her attention and drive her to interpret the forms' potential. The yin-yang and cold-warm dichotomy intrigues her and calls her to play with different materials, such as porcelain, glass, and metal]. She uses the pod as a metaphor to illustrate the exceptional phases of life. Pods house seeds and hidden potential. Seeds emerge into life, meant to reproduce. Life fades, husks decay, and are reclaimed by the earth. This full circle serves to enrich her personal experience. It emboldens her to share what she has learned and practiced with students worldwide.
She exhibits at craft shows worldwide, including The Smithsonian Craft Show, The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, The League of New Hampshire Craft Shows, and various Bead Shows. Teaching where invitations take her, including Japan, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and The Bahamas, contributes to a rich pool of visual resources and excellent human connections.
Delia Gerendi
Always looking for adventures and new experiences, Delia's great passion is to experiment and push the limits of the possibilities that can be attempted using polymer clay. With over twelve years of experience in the field, her artworks are characterized by strong, playful colors and carefully planned assembly methods. Most of her projects are spontaneous, guided by an idea or a sketch, developing during the creative process and going through multiple transformations until the final form.
Polymer clay is Delia's passion, the way she expresses her creativity and what satisfies her constant desire to experience new things. She loves to share her knowledge by teaching various projects during her workshops or making photo tutorials. In Delia's perfect world, craft supplies are free and chocolate makes you thin.
In addition to her creative work, the artist is one of the writers of the Polymer Week publication, always looking for new talents and actively involved in numerous projects aimed at strengthening the community of artists working with polymer clay.
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