I’m Heather and I live by the sea on the North West Coast of England with my husband, son and two cats (they seem to find us, not the other way round).

I came to beading about seven years ago when I joined a local leisure class for beadwork (after trying my hand at cross stitch, embroidery, knitting, canvaswork - you name it). None of these crafts caught my imagination the same way as the beads did - it is fascinating to see what can be created from a dishful of assorted beads! I was lucky enough to be able to take a City & Guilds course in Bead Needleweaving; it was hard work, very intense for someone who has been out of education for many years, but I enjoyed the challenge and gained a lot from the course - opened my eyes to look at the world around me in a new way - colours, textures, shapes.

Over the past 18 months I’ve also become interested in altered art and ATCs (artist trading cards). I’m having a lot of fun trading these with other artists around the world. I’m also enjoying the freedom involved in creating art from recycled bits, old books, paper, rubber stamps, inks, paints and glue.

SERPENTINE SPIRAL NECKLACE

I love working with beaded spirals and stones. Serpentine is said to be a healing stone and creates a relaxed, secure attitude towards life. It is also a stone of meditation. I complemented the colour of the stone by working the spiral with some cream and aqua/topaz beads, various Delicas and some gorgeous metallic khaki iris hexes. The piece was finished off with a few golden bronze freshwater pearls.

This necklace was a commissioned piece for my cousin.

This is one of my more recent creations. The fossil agate used as the focal centrepiece has some wonderful colours and patterns within it and the back (the necklace is reversible) looks completely different - there are no orange swirls in it.

I experimented by working two different straps - one is a peyote spiral and the other a twisted herringbone, both using several sized and shaped beads.

As you might see from viewing other work on my site, I particularly enjoy beading around stones and other focal pieces, along with playing around with spirals in all their diversity to see what effects I can create.

This is the necklace piece that I entered in the 2006 Beadworkers Guild Challenge. I used a variety of different sized beads, including Delicas, 15s and crystals. The centrepiece was made to give the effect of a Catherine Wheel with spirals finishing in starburst explosions. The two end sections were beaded around empty bead tubes using Delicas to form Roman Candles. For a bit of fun, I beaded the fastener in the form of a matchstick. Although the piece may look heavy, it isn’t and is very comfortable to wear, sitting neatly around the neck.