I would like to share a few pictures and thoughts about my beadmaking process. My beads are all made from porcelain clay, which I purchase in solid lump clay form (the way you might think of potter's clay) This is often most confusing to people unfamiliar with ceramics, because porcelain is often thought of as a liquid clay. Porcelain, in fact, does come in liquid (slip) form, but the kind I use is solid. The solid clay is wonderful to use, because you can form it into balls or other shapes, you can roll it flat with a rolling pin, you can mold it, you can stamp into it, you can carve it... the possibilities are almost endless. I actually use all of the above mentioned techniques: sometimes many techniques are used in a single bead. I categorize my beads into three different processes:

Some of the beads I make (namely, the Charms and Links) are made from rubber molds that I have made. I use a RTV type rubber compound to make my molds. When I make a charm with one of these molds, I press a small ball of porcelain into the mold, imbed the 24 gauge high temperature wire loop into the back (for charms and links) or pierce the mold and clay with my skewer, smooth the area out, stamp it with my name stamp and let the clay sit until completely dry. I do this because it is very difficult to get the sticky clay out of the rubber mold. The charm is then ready to be cleaned by scraping the rough edge and wet sanding until smooth.

Many of my other beads I make are made from a combination of mold and hand building techniques.  I consider this combination technique the second type of bead process I use. The Fairy Faces, for example, use the Moon Baby face mold, to which I add the details of hair, leaves, flowers and berries by hand. These types of beads are of great interest to me, since they allow me to make beads that are similar in size and form, but all slightly different in detail.

 The final type of beads are made with handbuilding techniques. These beads include the Snack Charm series, the Accent beads and some of the Garden beads like the ladybugs and daisies.  Each of these kinds of beads are one of a kind, and entirely formed by hand using various wooden tools and stamps. These types of beads are always slightly different and they offer me great freedom to play. Lately, I have been experimenting with rubber stamps, both commercial stamps from Angel List stamp manufacturers and my own custom stamps. The Buttons, Linky Things, and Sticks and Stones are all examples of my use of rubber stamps. 

After my beads and charms have been made and are fully dried, they are fired in an electric kiln for the first firing, called a Bisque Firing. This changes the from of the clay into a new state which is no longer able to dissolve in water. The clay becomes solidified, but it remains porous, and it is the perfect state in which the next step can be done: Glazing. I use a variety of glazes from different companies as well as studio glazes. The glazes are painted with small paintbrushes onto the bisqued clay...some charms get only one color, while some beads (like the Fairies) get 5 or 6 different colors. I enjoy working with the glazes and testing how different colors and textures work together.

When the glazing of the beads is completed, they are ready for the final firing... the Glaze Firing. During this firing, the beads will be taken to the hottest temperature of the process... over 2000 degrees F (also known as cone 6). The beads, which are painted on all surfaces with glaze, need to be hung or threaded on high temperature wires in order to be fired, since the glaze is essentially a glassy surface. The photos shown below demonstrate some of the ways that I use high temperature wire and kiln furniture in my kiln to support the beads.

If you are interested in learning more about Porcelain & Ceramic Bead Making, please join the Beads of Clay Yahoo Group that has been formed by several Ceramic Bead makers. I am a founder, co-owner and co-moderator of this group, and we hope to bring together many people interested in making and collecting Artist made Ceramic Beads

Creative Process