ESTHER LIBERMAN: Queen of the beads!

Esther is a co-founder of ORA Northwest Jewish Artists. She is also our humble Web mistress, maven, goddess....well, you get the picture!

Beadwork is Esther's art , craft, and passion. Her work sparkles and shines and usually elicits comments from her patrons like, "How did you do that?" Stop by her booth, look at the amazing pieces of art she has created, and ask her the same question...."How did you do that?"

...then buy it!

Necklaces, bracelets, amulets, and ritual Judaica items will be featured at the Celebration of Art sale next Sunday. Esther's MahJong bracelets are selling well at the Oregon Jewish Museum gift shop...hopefully she'll have a few of those on hand as well at this sale.

Just in case this is your first time at our blog..... here's the scoop on the Celebration of Art '11"

October 30th... 10:30-4:30

MJCC 6651 SW Capitol Hwy

FREE ADMISSION!

Meet Marcie Stone

MARCIE STONE will be a featured guest artists at our Celebration of Art 2010. Look for her booth in the MJCC Ballroom, October 24th from 10am-4pm.

HERE IS HER BIO!

Born and raised in New York City I spent my early years haunting some of the world’s finest museums. The American Museum of Natural History in particular has had a great influence on my art. In the early 1970's I moved to Oakland, California to study textiles at The California College of Arts and Crafts. I graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

In 1978 I moved to San Diego, CA. I spent the next several years focusing on exploring the use of beadwork on pine needle baskets. Through the years sculptural seed beadwork has become central to my work. The following years were spent exploring sculptural peyote stitch over armatures and as jewelry pieces.

In 1979 I opened the Shepherdess in San Diego, CA. The Shepherdess began as a fiber and weaving store but quickly evolved into a gallery style bead store. The Shepherdess was one of the first bead stores in the country to offer classes taught by national and international instructors drawing students from throughout the US. I sold the Shepherdess in August of 2006.

Since 2004, Greg (my husband) and I have been combining our creative energies. Our skill sets and creative visions intertwine beautifully allowing pieces to develop as one idea seamlessly merges into another.

Working with Greg’s glass, a palette of seed beads, semiprecious and antique beads in assorted sizes and shapes I begin to make spontaneous choices that evolve into a biomorphic synthesis of colors and textures. I am fascinated with the way the different beads play against each other, allowing me to create jeweled encrustations influenced by primitive art and organic forms mainly found in the ocean. The pieces are very organic and seem to have a life of their own.

My work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Among the venues my work has been exhibited at are: the Museum of Art and Design, New York City; the Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio; the Musée National des Arts et Tradition Populaires, Paris, France; and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

www.hanson-stone.com/

More Classes!

Rosana is taking a class this month called "Alternative Supports and Surfaces for Collage." This class will teach how to create more three-dimensional pieces using other backgrounds as supports. Can't wait to see what cool new things Rosana creates after this class!

And I (Esther) will be taking two advanced beadwork classes this summer. One, taught by famed beading pioneer Jeanette Cook, is called "Mastering the Curl," and should be awesome. The other, with award-winning Judy Walker, is called "Entangled Cubes Necklace." Don't tell anyone I said this, but it looks a little daunting! But I'm up for a good challenge.... right??

What are YOU taking???? Click on "comments" to brag...

About our artists

Once in a while one of our artists will be highlighted....today it is Esther Liberman of Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Esther is a beadwork artist specializing in beaded jewelry and Judaic ritual objects. She is known for her Kippot made entirely of glass beads, and her detailed Mezuzot and Yahrzeit candle covers created with thousands of tiny beads. Local customers also love her unique Mah Jongg bracelets and Hamsa pendants.

She holds a degree in Ethnic Arts and throughout her studies, she continued to be fascinated by the beads and needlework.

"I have done every kind of needle work imaginable," she says, "but I keep coming back to the beads. They just speak to me; they always have. The dance of various cultures is best accentuated by beaded costumes, and the music by beaded gourds!"

Liberman loves to explore the possibilities presented by mixing traditional forms with modern materials and aesthetics. Tribal African beads shine in modern jewelry, while ancient Hebrew texts are revisited with computer-produced beads.

Esther is a co-founder of ORA - our Portland art collective and completed an ambitious website for the group which can be visited at www.northwestjewishartists.org.

Her own personal website can be seen at www.geocities.com/estherbeads.

Her work will be for sale at the upcoming Hadassah Fair this Sunday - November 18th from 9 am - 4 pm.
This is held at Neveh Shalom, 2900 SW Peaceful Lane, Portland.
More info: http://www.portlandhadassah.org

Liberman will also be selling her work at at the annual Holiday Market at Portland's French American International School, which is a fundraiser for the school. This sale takes place Friday, Dec. 7th 3pm - 6pm and Saturday, Dec. 8th 9am to 6pm. Free admission.

8500 NW Johnson St, Portland 97229. Corner of Cornel & Miller Roads.
More info: http://www.faispdx.org

This event includes food & gift vendors, a Parisian Cafe, and wine tasting from several local & international wineries. (It IS French, you know : o ) ]