Beadweaver making off-loom wearable art and necklaces in glass beads.
Artist’s Statement
Laura Taylor
I have been making off-loom glass bead jewellery for many years and it is a serious hobby for me. It is a fulfilling experience to create a complex piece of jewellery, bead by bead.
I particularly like creating beaded wearable art that has a story behind it. To this end, the writings of JRR Tolkien have been a major inspiration for the themes of my beading. His writing has been a large part of my life since childhood and it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to portray Middle Earth in dramatic and complex pieces of beaded adornment. I exhibit my Tolkien work at the annual meeting of the Tolkien Society in Oxford. I also created pieces for complex costumes for Tolkien characters at a London Comic Con event.
Simpler woven beading can be equally fulfilling. I enjoy working with beads of different sizes, surfaces and materials but in the same colour to emphasise the different textures. Inspiration for this comes from the garden where there is a wide range of greens. My preference is for glass or crystal beads but I like to use other materials if they enhance the work such as metals, fabric and acrylics.
I keep up-to-date by attending workshops. I am a member of the Beadworkers Guild and the Bead Society of Great Britain.
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