Nancy Cain
Bead Artist and Instructor
The endless array of beads and the infinite way of combining them is what most excites me. Beads have an incredible history from (but not limited to) the sacred, the healing, the price to insure an afterlife, as currency, not to mention simple to elaborate adornment. Beads have been used by nearly every culture since the advent of modern man and are an inherent part of our heritage.
The process of working with something as simple and basic as tiny glass beads has for me, evolved from simple hobby craft to making works of art. Before I became aware of beads, I worked for 13 years as a graphic artist. In 1993, I left the graphics industry to raise my two children. While at home, my interest in beads grew and I started to teach locally about 10 years ago.
I am currently working full-time with the beads in my home studio and travel around the country teaching technically detailed 3-D sculptures and jewelry. I love developing new pieces for teaching and for my own artistic expression. I instructed a workshop at the 2005 Bead & Button Show and have also taught my Dragonfly workshop and Glenwood Bracelet class at the 2006 Beadv&vButton Show. My oversized sculpture, Dragonfly B.C., was a finalist in the 2005 Bead Dreams competition and subsequently published in the October 2005 edition of Bead & Button magazine.
Originally from
I will be teaching on a Gems of the Baltic Bead Cruise July 15 - 25, 2008 on board the brand new Holland America Line Ship, the ms Eurodam.