Designs By Onye

Biography

Adornment is a natural product of what happens when beads are strung or woven together. Though I have spent the last few years creating geometric bead art that was not inherently wearable, jewelry-making is foundational to my origin story as an artist. Beaded-beads are larger, more ornate beads, constructed by weaving smaller beads together, usually glass seed beads. I discovered the joy in creating them as I was in the process of solving the problem of making them entirely self-supporting and not require a core bead as a base-form at the start. My process for creating geometric beaded-beads often begins with a few triangle-weave stitches, seed beads and thin monofilament, but no needle. Some BBs are as simple as a tiny stellated icosahedron, others approach the complexity of my Anemone Ball pieces. The repeated layering gives them solidity, weight, longevity and strength, and allows me to explore manifold expressions of shapes in various sizes.

Looks

About the look

Confetti Collar

Geometric Beaded-beads, handmade with various sizes of seed beads (size 6 - 24), microtubes, Czech crystals, and 6lb monofilament. Neck ring is stainless steel wire with a threaded ball closure that can be moved if the wearer decides to convert or rearrange the beaded-beads.

2016

While this collar is a combination of various styles and color combinations of beaded-beads, the collar features 6 beaded-beads with specific dodecahedral symmetry. One is actually a rhombic triacontahedron, which leans more toward icosahedral symmetry. At the time of its creation, I was attempting to break the habit of repetitively creating combinations of dark blue color schemes, and I wanted to create a fun but elegant wearable art piece. I also wanted to showcase the numerous textures that can be created by combining triangle weave and right-angle weave. One of these BBs was a gift from another bead artist (Beth Clark); all other BBs were created by me.

About the look

Bauble Collar

Geometric Beaded-beads, handmade with various sizes of seed beads (size 6 - 20), crackle glass, metal beads, resin beads, Czech crystals, and 6lb monofilament. Neck ring is stainless steel wire with a threaded ball closure that can be moved if the wearer decides to convert or rearrange the beaded-beads.

2017

This collar features 3 large dodecahedral 'baubles' at its center: sculpted beaded beads that could be pendants on their own. Unlike the Confetti Collar, this piece bears more muted tones and more metallic, shadowy hues, a staple of winter fashions.