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Walking in Another Artist's Shoes!
Our guest speaker/instructor, Sylvia Humphrey is going to lead a "make and take" workshop at our Tuesday, May 12th Bead Society Program Meeting. She will talk a little about her artwork, but we will all get to make a Chunky By Design art piece or creation. Everyone brings their own tools and spare chunky or unique beads and decorations. We will supply some art materials as well. This is reservation only because we need to plan for materials and tables. There will be limited space. Members have priority! Members will get an email, others can email [email protected] to see if there are spots available. This will be in the Kaizuka Room of the Veterans Memorial Complex, 4117 Overland, Culver City at 7:15 pm. Here is what you need to bring: Supplies -Jewelry mat (so beads don't roll off table) -tools (pliers, cutter, needle nose, scissors, hole punch if making leather necklace) -their own large beads or ethnic beads and pendants but I will have some beads to select or add to -Closure (S hook, lobster claw, etc) - heavy duty beading wire (49 strands) - glue E6000 -crimping pliers -crimp tubes #2 -jump rings close and open - waxed cotton cord - thin leather cord If you do not want to participate, you would be free to observe. Be sure to indicate that on the RSVP. So step out of your comfort zone! Walk on the wild side! It will be great fun and collaborative! We will carry this over to the June 9th meeting by making a beaded wall art creation or beaded wind chimes. Elections are taking place at this meeting. If you can't attend in person, be sure to log in via Zoom to vote. Topic: TBS May Business Meeting Time: May 12, 2026 6:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Meeting ID: 899 883 2615 Passcode: Beads
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 Bead-nucleated Chinese freshwater pearls which became available in 2022 *1  A 112-carat abalone pearl was found in Sonoma County, California in 1990 by West Rankin. *2 Surprising Facts about Pearls The April Program Meeting of the Bead Society will be held in person in the Uruapan Room of the Veterans Memorial Building in Culver City on Tuesday, April 7th at 7:00 pm Pacific Time. Normally we meet on the first Wednesday of the month, but due to holidays and scheduling, we’ll meet on Tuesday! Our speaker will be in person only, no Zoom. We welcome back Renee Newmann, author and gemologist. She spoke last year about Diamonds! She will regale us with some fascinating information about Pearls! Here’s a taste: A 112-carat abalone pearl was found in Sonoma County, California in 1990 by the late Wesley Rankin. After the pearl was appraised at $144,000 by John Latendresse, Wes decided to go into the natural pearl business and started the Pacific Coast Pearls company. Abalone fishing has been illegal in California since 2018 in order to save the dwindling population of abalone. However, it is still allowed in Baja California, Mexico during non-spawning months. Besides briefly discussing natural pearls from California and Mexico, Renée’s PowerPoint presentation will also include other topics such as
Renee Newman GG (GIA) is the author of 16 books on jewelry and gems. Her interest in pearls developed when she was an international tour director and visited Japan, China, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and French Polynesia. After obtaining her GG from GIA, she became a gemologist and jewelry control manager for the Josam Diamond Trading Corporation in downtown Los Angeles. Even though their focus was on diamonds, they realized that mounting diamonds with colored gems and pearls gave them a wider variety of jewelry to sell and higher profit margins. Armed with trade experience and gemological credentials, Newman decided to create books that helped readers visually evaluate the quality of gems. Her latest book is Pearls: Their History, Sources, Types & Qualities. The books will be available for sale at the meeting for a discounted price. Bring cash or check. You can access more information about Renée and her books here. You can also connect with her on Instagram @reneenewmangg and Facebook. The Bead Society will bring some of their pearls from the Bead Shack if you are interested in looking at them! The Business Meeting will be at 6:30 pm on Zoom as well as in person. The meeting itself is in person only! So be sure to join us! Topic: TBS April Business Meeting Time: Apr 7, 2026 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting, (business meeting only) Meeting ID: 899 883 2615 Passcode: Beads Thanks to Renee Newmann for the pictures and text. *1 Bead-nucleated Chinese freshwater pearls (3–3.5mm), which became available in 2022. Pearls and photo from Betty Sue King of Kings Ransom. *2. A 112-carat abalone pearl was found in Sonoma County, California in 1990 by the late West Rankin. Photo from Pacific Coast Pearls.  Renee Newmann's Latest Book on Pearls!
The March 4th Bead Society Program Meeting will be a Sharing Session on Zoom for attendees to showcase their Earrings and/or Bracelet designs. All are welcome to participate.
You can show and tell by holding up your objects. Or you can send pictures to Kay and she will put them in a slide show for viewing. Or you can share your desktop, and treat viewers to some of your work! You can be prepared to discuss the design and fabrication of your medium, challenges and successes. It will be an educational experience for all! Join Zoom Meeting Topic: March Program Meeting Time: Mar 4, 2026 6:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Meeting ID: 899 883 2615 Passcode: Beads TBS Business meeting at 6:30 pm. Join us!  The February 4th Program Meeting of the Bead Society is going to feature the African Twilight. Some of you will remember that we had a Gala event back in 2019 with Alan Donovan from Africa introducing the video. We are celebrating Black History Month by revisiting this video! The two women, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher traveled all over Africa for over 45 years. They produced 17 books about various aspects of their travels. We will be showcasing a talk the two women did in 2022 at the GLEX Summit (Global Exploration Summit). Their two volume book, African Twilight will be available to peruse!
We will be meeting both in person and on Zoom. Veterans Memorial Complex, Senior Center, Room C71, 7 pm The Senior Center is at 4095 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA . It is just across the street from the Vets Memorial Building. Parking is available in the lot behind the building. Feb 4th, 7 pm PT Zoom information is Meeting ID: 899 883 2615, Passcode: Beads. TBS Business meeting at 6:15 pm. Join us! Some additional resources from YouTube and the web: African Twilight: Vanishing Rituals & Ceremonies - Angela Fisher & Carol Beckwith Cuyamungue Institute An interview with the two women with staff from the Cuyamungue Institute and guests. 2 hours, 23 minutes Interview: Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher | National Geographic A clever feast spares the lives of photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher during a harrowing trip to Surmaland near the Ethiopian-Sudanese border. 6.23 minutes African Twilight GALA NIGHT OF THE CENTURY The documentary by Reality media Online of he spectacular launch of the double volume book of the vanishing rituals and ceremonies of the African continent by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, with a carnival of Music, dance, costume and fashion created from vanishing handwoven and printed textiles of African continent. African Heritage House, Mar 3, 2019. This was the documentary we viewed by DVD back in 2019. 1 hour, 3 minutes AFRICAN TWILIGHT: VANISHING RITUAL & CEREMONIES - Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher GLEX Summit 2022 This is the video we watched during the meeting, Africa Online Museum Würzburg, Germany You can find other interviews with Carol and Angela by searching by their names.  Collectible Beads, by Robert K. Liu The January 7th TBS Program Meeting will feature Margie Akin talking about Collecting from an Anthropologist's Point of View. Margie has an extensive background in teaching at UC Riverside, CSU San Bernadino and the University of Redlands. Margie is a Cultural and Linguistic Services Specialist.
The event will be in person, and on Zoom. We will be meeting in the Uruapan room of the Veterans Memorial Building at 7:00 pm PT. Zoom information is Meeting ID: 899 883 2615, Passcode: Beads. Beads have been collected since women and men walked the earth. "Beads were probably the first durable ornaments humans possessed ... " * TBS Business meeting at 6:30 pm. Join us! *Liu, Robert K, Foreword, The History of Beads: from 100,000 B.C. to the Present. Dubin, Lois Sherr. Abrams: New York, rev ed., 2009, Pow wows are a great place to find seed beads and see wonderful beaded workmanship! Pow wows are gatherings of Native American tribes to celebrate and honor native cultures and traditions. They are a social event that usually features a variety of dances, songs and vendors. Here's info on an upcoming one at CSUN in Northridge on November 29, 2025.  Here's a link to the Press Release from California State University, Northridge.
To find other Pow wow events, you can try searching the Pow Wows Calendar from PowWows.com. The website for Calexplornia has lists of California Pow Wows. Unfortunately, it may not be as timely as one wants. Another website specifically for California is NewsfromNativeCalifornia. It is broader than just Pow wows. For example, there is some interesting information about rock art locations in California. In addition, another website on Southern California Pow wows comes from the San Manual Pow Wow and is linked here. If you know of other websites that have useful Pow wow information, let us know in the Comments.  Beadmaking in Glass, a World of Techniques The diversity of glass techniques that are used to create beads is much bigger than often thought. Pretty much every glass technique you can think of, has also been applied to beadmaking. Lampwork beads, furnace wound beads, drawn beads, molded beads, coldworked beads, blown beads: there are many ways to make a bead. In this presentation, we will travel around the world to see, for example, beads made at a wood fired furnace, seed bead production in India, lampworking in Indonesia and the making of molded beads in the Czech Republic. You will never look at a glass bead the same again! Floor Kaspers is our speaker, all the way from the Netherlands via Zoom! Join the Bead Society in person at the Veterans Memorial Complex in the Uruapan room or via Zoom. November 5th, 7 pm Pacific Time Meeting ID: 899 883 2615 Passcode: Beads Business meeting at 6:30 pm. Join us!  The October 2nd Bead Society Program Meeting will be held via Zoom at 7 pm on Symbolism in Global Jewelry. Note that this meeting is a Thursday, not our usual Wednesday meeting time. Thursday, Oct 2nd, 2025 6:30 PM Pacific Time (Program at 7 pm, Business meeting at 6:30 pm. ) Meeting ID: 899 883 2615 Passcode: Beads We are in for a great treat for the October 2, meeting, with Sindi Schloss, gemologist, appraiser and educator, talking about Symbolism in Global Jewelry. Sindi is a return speaker for our group, she is very knowledgeable, lively and entertaining. As Sindi will share with us, “symbolic thought defines us as 'modern man'. Jewelry is one of the first indicators and examples of symbolic thought and predates rock art by 90,000 years!” This presentation will examine primary symbols witnessed by early humans and translated into jewelry as wearable symbols. Not only will this presentation expand your worldview, but give you a greater appreciation and ability to interpret purpose and meaning of jewelry. The September Meeting of the Bead Society is the first meeting of our fiscal year which started July 1. We are going to focus on what we did this summer. Ideally, what we made! We also had successful events at the Fiesta of Gems sponsored by CCRMC, and the Pop Up of the Whole Bead Show. It will be a sharing session, so members and attendees are encouraged to participate. You can share what you made or send pictures to Kay who will put them together into a slideshow. So come to the meeting and show us What you Made this Summer!
The meeting will be held on Zoom. Bead Society Meeting & Program! Wednesday, Sep 3, 2025 6:30 PM Pacific Time (Program at 7 pm, Business meeting at 6:30 pm. ) Meeting ID: 899 883 2615 Passcode: Beads All are welcome!  The Fiesta of Gems hosted by the Culver City Rock and Mineral Club was June 28-29, 2025. The Bead Society had a presence there. We had two tables filled with beads, jewelry and findings at discount prices. We enjoy participating in this show because the people who attend are very interesting. There is a lot of overlap between people who hunt for gemstones and people who make jewelry with them. Various Bead Society volunteers such as Angie C, Sylvia H, Bridgette W, Carmen L, Diedre G, David K and Nikki D helped out at the show. We demonstrated basic bead design for making a necklace with Lisa S, Bead Society President, and Kumihimo with Kay D. We had sample projects for popular bead weaving stitches We also answered questions about bead stringing, supplies, and classes. The beads and jewelry come from donations from the families of Bead Society members and others. We have used the beads in classes, donated them to various groups and have sold some at our Pop Ups and other shows. We look forward to next year's show! |
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