Etsy Bead Embroidery Guild

As the month of May winds down I thought this would be a good time to introduce another of the Etsy Bead Embroidery Guild's artists.   This month we interviewed Bev Haring of EsmerldasStudio.

Name: Bev Haring

Shop: Esmerldas Studio

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Please introduce yourself to the readers: Born and raised in the Denver area, I lived in Northern California for 30 years before returning to Colorado when my husband and I retired from the corporate jobs in 2001.

How long have you been beading? I made beaded headbands for my dolls when I was a child, and in high school I won a prize for a bead embroidered vest. Then life happened and I didn’t really bead again until I retired and started playing with creating jewelry again.

Eye of Horus

When did you first try bead embroidery as a technique? Bead embroidery sort of evolved out of my interest in fiber arts in general, about 8 years ago I did a piece that was a combination of quilting and bead embroidery (titled “The Road to Oz”), and shortly after that I saw copies of Bead and Button magazine that made me realize there was a much bigger potential in this art form.

Why do you like bead embroidery? I always thought there was nothing better than a really big box of crayons – color is a good thing! I have never mastered drawing to my satisfaction, but creating patterns and “pictures” with beads is the next best thing. In addition, it is a good complementary art form to my art quilts, allowing me to work in both small and large formats

What are your inspirations and influences? The work of Sherri Serafini, Heidi Kummli and Margie Deeb inspired my “think outside the box” approach. I find that the natural world is a continual source of ideas for pieces, and the colors of natural stones often dictate the flow and design of a piece.

Malachite Cuff