Customer Reviews

Ceramic Bead Jewelry: 30 Fired & Inspired Projects (Lark Jewelry Books)

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A couple of days ago I received a copy of Jennifer Heynen's book Ceramic Bead Jewelry, published by Lark, in the mail from Amazon. This is a wonderful book and especially so because of Jennifer's friendly and enthusiastic voice which comes through on every page. Her excitement about working with clay is catching.
The book covers all the basics of making clay beads and will be a a great help to anyone starting out in ceramic clay. I found the directions easy to understand and was pleased to learn some new things myself. I was especially happy to find a very easy way of making molds and plan to try it this week. Her directions for making bead shapes is also easy to follow and had some new ideas for me. Specifically, the book covers the basic tools needed, how to work with unfired clay, how to decorate the clay and how to fire and glaze clay. These are essential directions for anyone trying out this wonderful craft. Jennifer does a great job of covering all these necessary skills.
The second half of the book is devoted to making jewelry. She has 30 different projects for the reader to make. Again the directions are simple and easy to understand and the jewelry is original and looks fun to wear. I especially like the Multi Strand Bracelet and the Square Bead Bracelet.
I hope all of you who are new to ceramic bead making will take a look at this great book which is the first major publication on the subject.

This elegant hardback book, Ceramic Bead Jewelry, by Jennifer Heynen, is the first book of its kind to really get right to the heart of ceramic bead making, while additionally offering fabulous jewelry designs, all created by the author. What a great book! I was blown away by the projects, the colors, the fantastic innovative ideas which are shown in this terrific book by Jennifer. She teaches us to create the beads, and then to design with them.
Ceramic has not been a medium which has been covered sufficiently in print, although there are many fabulous artists out there who are extremely popular right now. The author is one of the leaders in this great group, and sharing her manner of working is a very wonderful gift which she has given to the reader. The projects are myriad in variety, too. If you don't want to make your boyfriend a cool necklace (I personally love that "Boyfriend Necklace"!), move on, and try her "Cupid Ring"! If that doesn't suit you, prepare yourself to flip out over her "Cute as a Button" earrings or her "Polka Dot Fun" bracelet. Interesting to me as well are her "Flowery Cuff", where she has studded her flower shaped beads on a wide, soft, tan velveteen band, like something I have never seen anywhere before, and her "Fabulous Fiber Belt " which shows off her sense of color, which is always on target, whether she is working with brights or muted tones.

Even if you don't plan to make your own ceramic beads, this book stands as a success simply as a jewelry design book. The author has a website and you can find it right in the book. Her fantastic, gorgeous beads can be purchased there, which makes it easy to start at step two, if you like.

The photographs are great, with very vivid and exciting colors.

I think that this book, with its many bracelets, pendants, earrings, rings, even a cute pineapple pin, is a total winner! I am delighted to own this high quality, clearly explained, well written, beautiful piece of work: Ceramic Bead Jewelry by Jennifer Heynen.

I pre-ordered this book in March and was so happy to receive it this week. I had read about it on a yahoo group called beads of clay. It was well worth the wait. Very clear pictures and thorough instructions on how to create beads with clay. I highly recommend this book.

I am not a ceramic bead maker, but after reading Jennifer Heynen's book I feel like I want to go out and get myself a kiln and a hunk of clay and start making snakes and balls and just getting my hands dirty just like when I was a kid! I had the good fortune to actually meet Jennifer at a jewelry workshop right before her book came out. I bought it because I was curious, and now I really want to test my luck with making these beautiful beads. Jennifer is obviously very accomplished in her art, and loves what she does. Her colors and designs are fresh and funky and as colorful as her personality. I am impressed by the writing that makes something so technical seem within the grasp of someone like me who has never worked in this medium before. I have also ordered beads from Jangles and can attest to their quality and beauty. If you seek something new to add to your jewlery designing repertoire, or if you just love beautiful design books, then Ceramic Bead Jewelry is for you!

I stopped making pottery on the wheel about 15 years ago when my arthritis became too severe. Now I find myself making jewelry, and I am excited to return to working with clay as part of my new hobby.

This book would be most useful to those who have a background in working with clay. I do not want to suggest that the author failed to cover any necessary information; this is a field in which details are important, and I don't know how you could learn everything you need to know from any book. If you really want to make clay beads, pendants, etc., and you've never worked with clay, this book would be an excellent addition to a pottery class. Even though the book is very thorough, I don't think you can expect to pick it up (or any other book, either) and have all of the information you need. For one thing, the information you need will in part depend on what's available in your area from your local suppliers. There are different kinds of clay bodies and various kinds of glazes - you can even make your own, but that's getting pretty advanced. Electric kilns are different from gas kilns, which are different from wood-fired kilns. . .which are often artisan-made, and no book will provide what you need to know about those, as they are all different, and often must be fired several times before their quirks are understood.

A few weeks ago I went out and bought 25 lbs of porcelain, and even though I have quite a bit of experience with it for throwing and handbuilding, when it came to making small objects with holes, I had a lot of questions. This book answered every one of them, and I'm grateful I found it. Although I won't be making any of the author's projects, as her taste and style are very different from mine, reading through the projects still yields a lot of important information. If your taste, also, varies enough from the author's that you don't think you will make any of the projects, that's not a reason to shy away from this book. There's enough information there to guide you through your own variations so that you can produce your own artistic vision.

Read her instructions carefully, as they contain a lot of information. If you've not worked in clay before, I would strongly suggest taking a pottery class and using this book, along with your instructor's direction, to fine tune your craft. Then find another instructor. Just as one book can't possibly teach everything, neither can one instructor. This is a wonderful, rewarding hobby, and this book is an important part of the literature.

This book is beautiful and full of inspiration, but weak on technology in my opinion. I bought it, sight unseen because I have been making ceramic beads for some months now, and experiencing a very steep learning curve. I hoped the book would address some of the problems I have been experiencing, however, this book reveals no big secrets. I am glad I bought it, but it was not all I hoped for.

Very well written, great pictures, and lots of step by step. I had worked with other mediums before but not ceramic beads. Jennifer takes you step by step and is very easy to follow. I've made over 100 beads and pendants so far. Some weren't successful, but that's not Jennifer's fault. Some shortcuts you just can't take! Wonderful book, especially if you've been curious. Ceramic beads are easy, but time consuming. Very worth it!

Jennifer created a fantastic book. Tjhe illustrations are beautiful! The i nstructions are easy to understand. The book makes you want to immediately start making your own beads.

There aren't too many books on creating small-scale ceramics such as jewelry components. I wanted specific tips for making ceramic beads and got some good information from this book, which for me makes it worth the money. It was missing a few things... it stated that you can make your own decals for ceramics but didn't have any information or references about how. Also it didn't have a list of specific resources for where to buy things, just a general "from your ceramic supply store." If you don't know anything about loading a kiln (I didn't, I use a paint your own pottery studio to fire pieces) this part of the book is worth the money, it has a good, basic explanation that anyone can follow. I enjoyed the author's style - the projects are visual and creative. I would recommend this book highly for anyone that specifically wants to start making their own beads.

I would never have bought this book if I had seen it first. The designs in clay are so SIMPLE. There are no inspired projects. One project consists of bracelet with little round dents in the circle beads and square beads. Another project a pair of earrings consisting of 3 flat round beads with two circles in painted in black underglaze on each and she calls them targets.

I do object to even mentioning techniques for which she gives no instructions like lusters and raku. They are both complicated and potentially hazardous.

Jeniffer Heynen clearly rushed this book into print and it needed a bit more time and thought first. To be the first book on ceramic bead jewelry is not as good as writing a useful and fun book on the topic.

The only thing that I did like in this book was the photos and description of hanging the beads for firing.