ABC's of Creativity - V is Venetian

Just as I was about to write about Venetian beads from the historical point of view, Stefani Ogden of Bead Den at the TBS Bead Fair  gave me a quick lesson on contemporary Murano beads. 

Selection of Venetian beads at Bead Den at TBS Bead Fair, 2013
www.beadden.com 

Murano glass is known around the world for its beauty and clarity. Venetian bead making dates back to early 1300s when beads were produced by hand with the famous Moretti glass. These beads became known worldwide as Venetian Beads.  

(l). Blown Venetian beads; (r.) double blown beads.
www.beadden.com

Orchid glass pendant.
www.beadden.com

Several glassmaking techniques such as millefiori (thousand flowers), sommerso (submerged), filigrana (threads of different colours), frit (tiny pieces of crushed glass and aventurina (goldstone) have been developed over the centuries and the bead makers of today use the same techniques as were used in the 11th Century.  Genuine Venetian/Murano beads are made by hand using fine quality materials such as 24 carat gold, .925 sterling silver as well as Moretti glass.

Geometric Foil collection. 24K gold and .925 sterling silver is used in Murano beads
http://www.venetianbeads.com

Pendant with 24K foil and millefiori fish
http://www.venetianbeads.com

Twisted beads with 24K gold
www.beadden.com

Pendants with frit, 24K gold. Teardrop pendant.
www.beadden.com

Red Murano beads with 24K. Some gold is added to make the red colour.
www.beadden.com

(top) Heart pendants with millefiore; (lower) Frit aand fused pendants
www.beadden.com

Klimt-style Murano beads with 24K gold
www.beadden.com

  Sommerso floral garden beads
www.beadden.com

Murano beads with large holes for sliding over bracelets.
www.beadden.com

Mini Murano teardrop pendants
www.beadden.com

This Murano teardrop pendant with 24K was stamped MURANO
www.beadden.com 

The name MURANO is stamped into hot glass of larger, thicker pieces.
www.beadden.com

From the historic side, Chevron beads were created by the end of the 14th century. Venetian chevron beads are drawn beads, made from glass canes, which are shaped using specifically constructed star moulds. The first chevron beads consisted of 7 layers of alternating colours. They usually have 6 facets. By the beginning of the 20th century, 4 and 6-layer chevron beads appear on various sample cards. Read more about how the layers are created, colours and  how pattern is exposed. 

Early small Venetian chevrons, circa 16th century 

courtesy: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/blog_post/ShadowDogDesigns/7169/

(photo by Karun:  http://www.karuncollection.com/?p=1170)

Chevron beads can be composed of a varied number of consecutive layers of colored glasses. The initial core is formed from a molten ball of glass (called a "gather") that was melted in a furnace. If the glassworker is making beads, an air bubble is blown into the center of the gather via a blowpipe, thus creating an opening, the future bead's perforation. 

Chevron Venetian Six Layer Trade Beads Big Africna, late 1800's early 1900'x

http://www.africadirect.com/beads/venetian-over-500

When making solid multilayered cane intended to be used for decorating millefiori beads no air bubble is inserted. The gather (with the air bubble in its center) is plunged into a star-shaped mould, which can have anywhere between five and fifteen points. Several layers of glass can be applied, returning to the mould as desired, to create either a star-shaped or smooth effect for each layer. 

Most of the Venetian chevron beads made for export to West Africa and to the Americas have layers in red, blue, and white. A smaller number of chevron beads were produced with other colors such as green, black and yellow. Venetian chevron beads have been traded throughout the world, most heavily in West Africa. These beads are referred to as "trade" beads. While researching this topic, it's amazing how many Venetian chevron and millefiori are out there for sale through E-bay. Some asking prices seem amazing, but adds to the appreciation of how precious Venetian beads are.

Millefiori is an Italian word meaning " a thousand flowers".  Millefiori beads are also known as "mosiac" beads throughout the world.  The making of millefiori beads is a two step process.  First the murrine or cane is made and then these are applied to a molten wound glass core and made into beads. 

Illustration of steps for making Millefioeri beads
http://www.venetianbeads.com/Millefiori.htm

Millefiori pendants. (top) flat matter millefiori pendant. See Murano label below
www.beadden.com

Murano Label on back of flat millefiori pendant
www. beadden.com

Venetian bead were very highly prized world-wide. They made their way to Ukraine and were strung and finished off with a “chepraha”, a unique metal clasp. By our standards, it may seem oversize, but it was used exclusively with Venetian beads. Status was shown by how many strand and styles of beads were worn for holidays. The more strands of beads, “korail”, pearls, “zgardy”, metal crosses or coins, the higher the status of the girl. This was especially evident on bridal wear, the fanciest variation of the local folk costume with unique headdresses.

Hutsul bride wearing 5 strings of Venetian beads amongst a beadwoven 'sylianka' choker, 'zgardy' with coins', 'korali'  with metal beads, 2006
Nat. Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya, Kolomyya, Ukraine

Venetian bead necklaces catalogued in the 3rd floor collection of the
Nat. Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya, Kolomyya, Ukraine, 2006

Seed bead 'gerdan' and metal 'zgardy" necklace from Western Ukraine.
Two strings of Venetian beads; lower string are "wedding cake" beads.
On display at Museum of Decorative Folk Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2013

Hutsul metal crosses strung between Venetian beads.
Since they are so prized, the beads are carefully placed in the design.
Kosiv Museum, Ukraine, 2011

Check out the incredible Venetian beads out there! Surf the net and be amazed by the variety of Trade and Millefiori beads from the past and marvel at the prices they're fetching.  

Better yet, pick up a contemporary Murano bead and create your masterpiece.

Photos of Bead Den's Murano Beads: Maria Rypan

Happy beading,

Maria

Bead & Button 2012

Maria is at the biggest consumer bead show, the Bead & Button Show, in Milwaukee, WI. this weekend.

Maria @ Rypan Designs booth #933

This is the place to meet and mingle with suppliers, magazine & book editors, other designers and of course fabulous beaders. In fact Maria says that many members of the Toronto Bead Society are at the show.

Here are a few more pictures of the booth. Hope to have more photos to share soon!

Beautifully lit booth

Back corner of booth

Coca Cola Extravaganza

Here's my birthday gift creation for a dear friend who LOVES Coca Cola in all shapes and forms. The commemorative soccer balls bottles for FIFA World Cup started it.

Coca Cola caps discovered at the Bead & Button Show made the wearable component of my gift possible. The decoupage beads were made in the Philippines for fellow vendor Priscilla Marban. I chose five different cap styles so I could get a bit of a pattern going. There were many more themes to choose from.

I started stringing the necklace the evening before at the Meet-Up for Toronto beaders in High Park. It was a chilly evening, but in good company and with extra heat from blankets, we kept on beading. The necklace has assorted seed beads strung in between the large disks. Once the cream & gold caps were exhausted, I made a bracelet with the remaining four red ones. For packaging I used the cleverly-designed fountain cup from our travels back from Milwaukee. It was perfect for the "Coca Cola Extravaganza" accessories.

Dolores, the birthday girl, loved it all.

Metallic Twist Collection

CLMN-TM1 - Twisted Columns Bracelet

TW-WL-TM1 - Twig Willow Twist

Here's my newest contemporary 'gerdan' collection created around exquisitely twisted bugles with a metallic edge from the Czech Republic. It has coordinating metallic-lined drops and triangle beads and comes in copper and bronze gold.

The wider twisted bugles and copper-lined drops were used in the bracelet. The finer bugles and triangle beads were used in the necklace choker. Metallic seed beads were used sparingly to frame the twisted bugles and make the drops and triangles pop. Twig Willow Choker looks nice up worn up high.

Beadwork kits and patterns will be ready for the Toronto Bead Society Bead Fair this weekend. Contact me if you would like one or the full set. Check my Events for upcoming bead shows. It never seizes to amaze me how beadwork comes together when you keep asking, "What if?". It's fascinating and fun.

TW-WL-TM3 - Twig Willow Twist

Beaded Eggs & Greeting Cards

Beaded Eggs by Vira Pavlova-Witkowska, Lviv, Ukraine

as seen in "A Conversation on Ukrainian-Style Beadwork with Maria Rypan",

BEADWORK, Oct/Nov 2009

Best wishes for a Happy and Blessed Easter full of peace, health and God's blessings. May you enjoy a springtime full of creativity.

Last week I created a greeting card with the above image as an Easter/note card. There were a lot of people to thank in the past two months of travel and presentations, bead shows and workshops. Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts (ACUA), Edmonton and all the museums; Kule Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta, Grand River Beads and Gift Gallery, OH; Beads N'More and Hall of Fame Bead Guild, OH; GLBG, MI; Canadian Oasis Shows to name a few.

If you'd like to purchased beaded eggs or cards, please let me know. I have a few of Vira's eggs, as well as cards for sale. This just could be a start of a new line...

Happy Easter,

Maria