Biography

Jennifer has been crafting all of her life. She had plans of running off to New York City to be a fashion designer until she discovered clay. In high school Jennifer took every art class there was, the only one she hadn’t tried was ceramics. There was a spot in her schedule so she decided it was going to be more fun than math so she signed up for the class. She was instantly in love. Soon Jennifer headed off to Indiana University for her BFA in ceramics.  After working in a fabric store through college and then as a corporate floral designer for a year, she set out to be self employed. She has been a self supporting artist for 14 years, first making tiles, and then making ceramic beads, buttons, and jewelry. She has published numerous how to articles, had a few television appearances, and wrote the book, Ceramic Bead Jewelry. You can find her exhibiting her line of Jangles jewelry at the Buyers Market of American Craft or teaching at the Bead and Button show every year. She has recently designed her first line of fabrics for In The Beginning Fabrics. She is excited to meld her two loves, sewing and ceramics.

Inspiration

Jennifer is excited by forms in nature.  She love visiting aquariums and botanical gardens and taking photos of what she sees. Nature is the perfect example of art. Jennifer gathers a lot of inspiration from it, but most of all her passion is color. Jennifer loves color and experimenting with new combinations. That is why her work is always changing. Beads are such a great opportunity to express herself. No two are ever the same. Each bead is an individual work of art.

Process

Jennifer enjoys the entire process too much to let anyone help her. She makes every bead herself. She starts by hand forming the clay into a shape, whether it is a ball, cylinder, or flower. After the beads are slowly dried they are fired in an electric kiln to 2000 degrees. They are individually glazed with tiny brushes. After the underglaze colors are applied then two coats of clear glaze are painted on the bead. They are then placed back in the kiln for a second firing, this time on special bead holders designed by Jennifer. After the second firing, she can hardly wait to open her kiln and see what small treasures she has created.