How Do They Do That?

As I sit quietly stitching seed bead after seed bead onto fabric I often think of how they are made.  Who patiently creates these lovely beads in all their shades of color? Who touched these beads before they came into my hands?  Who do I have to thank for all this beauty? And one day I wondered 'how is it done?'...

Seed beads are predominantly made in Japan and the Czech Republic. The process used has remained virtually unchanged since the 15th century.  Doesn't that lend an even greater 'value' to these tiny pieces of glass which pass through our hands each day?

Seed bead production begins with the creation of a very long, thin glass rods.  A furnace melts a mass of glass all at once.  As the stream of glass leaves the furnace, compressed air is blown into it, creating a hole in the cane. The glass cane is cut into yard-long lengths right after it passes through a wheel.  After being tied into bunches by hand, the canes are taken to the cutting machine.  A worker lays the canes out on a vibrating platform which slides the rods down onto a metal stop which is set to determine the chopping size.  In order to achieve the classic, rounded shape, the chopped beads are mixed with a clay-like compound to coat their sufaces and plug their holes.  It is then heated in a kiln, which rotates to keep the shape of each bead uniform and to keep the beads from sticking to each other.  After this process the beads are placed in an acid bath to remove the chalky compound from the holes and to make the surface shiny again.  The seed beads are then washed and dried in massive centrifugal machines.  Finally the beads are sorted by size and either strung onto hanks or bagged loose. 

From now on when I walk into a bead shop and see rows of seed beads - all lined up, ready to be used - my respect for these beauties will be even greater. [Thank you to "Beadopedia" for the above information]

"Measure not the work until the day's out and the labor done." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Delicious Delicas

When I began encrusted beading I was familiar with seed beads and had used them in the artist books that I had been making for many years. As I read and explored the magical world of beading I saw something called 'delica' beads but I had no idea what they were. I'll admit that when I first looked them up on an on-line bead site I found that they were more expensive than the seed beads I'd been using so I just skipped over them. One day, quite by accident I bought some Delicas at a local bead shop, thinking I suppose that they were the seed beads that I was so familiar with. Once I started beading with them I found many differences -- the larger hole was quite easy to work with and their uniformity made a neatnik like me sit up and take notice. Then I discovered their color ranges. At that point the whole thought of expense just dropped by the wayside because Delicas had put me under their spell. These days I probably use Delicas 85% of the time.

Seed beads are just as wonderful and in some ways they are more flexible than Delicas because they are rounder and are easier to use when there is a large expanse of base to cover. But I am entranced by the Delica colors. I love to use muted colors in monochromatic and analogous color schemes. Delicas seem to provide me with the shades that I'm looking for. What do you think, do you have a favorite or do you use both types of beads interchangeably?

Oh and the pictures you see here are from the first of my 'First Steps' collection. More to come in a later post.

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons." - Ruth Ann Schabacker