Stephanie Sersich

I am a fiber-artist, jewelry designer and glass beadmaker. While I work in several media, my signature jewelry incorporates a mixture of my own lampwork beads, vintage glass, ethnic beads, natural materials and fibers.

Since I was threading yarn through pasta I have been making jewelry. My mom, Annie, is an artist too and was always doing art projects in the house while I was growing up. My mom collects ethnic jewelry and eclectic art. She sews wild (but elegant) clothing and knits stop-you-on-the-street sweaters. From her, I’ve inherited a love of beads and fibers as well as the desire to create unique wearables by hand.

In college, I studied metalsmithing and painting. I loved the engineering process of the metal work and colors of the painting. As a bead-collector, I was tempted to try and make my own glass beads. Lampworking is an ancient glass-working technique whereby one winds glass rods around a steel mandrel over flame to build layers of color. There it was, the amalgamation of color and texture I craved.

I taught myself a variety of traditional stringing and knotting techniques and developed a few of my own. The “Spiny Knotting” technique I developed allows more beads and small treasures to be bound into a single piece, so each one of the “ingredients” adds a distinct energy that works to complement all the others. Though these collections take the form of jewelry pieces, I think of myself as a creator of “talismanic objects”…or maybe just “revolving wearable vignettes”. I live on the coast of Maine and love to spend time in my garden and studio, combining different colors and textures, whether beady or floral.

Stephane

Résumé

Teaching

  • Bullseye Glass 2006, 2008 Portland, OR
  • Tank Studio 2005 Toronto, Canada
  • Hacienda Mosaico 2005, 2006 & 2007 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
  • Anla Glas 2006 Silkebourg, Denmark
  • Haystack Mountain School of Crafts 2007, 2008, 2013 Deer Isle, ME
  • Creative Glass 2008, 2010 Zurich, Switzerland –Wels, Austria
  • Master Class – Bead & Button Show 2008 Milwaukee, WI
  • The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass 2013 Corning, NY

Lecture

  • Bead Society of Greater New York 2001, 2012 New York, NY
  • Toronto Bead Society 2005 Toronto, Canada
  • Beadesigner International 2004, 2014 Boston, MA
  • Northwest Bead Society 2005 Seattle, WA
  • Bullseye Glass 2006 Portland, OR
  • International Society of Glass Beadmakers’ annual Gathering 2003, 2006, 2008, 2014

Exhibition

  • Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show 2003, 2004 Philadelphia, PA
  • SOFA Expo New York 2006, 2007 New York, NY
  • Crafts Park Avenue 2005, 2006 New York, NY
  • Trajectories -The Bead Museum 2006 Glendale, AZ
  • Work of the Hand – Center for Maine Contemporary Art 2008 Rockport, ME
  • Juror: Outside the Box – International Society of Glass Beadmakers 2008

Publication

  • Bead & Button “Visual Treats” October 2004
  • Crafts Business “Teach to Travel” November/December 2005
  • Lapidary Journal “Bead Soup” February 2001
  • Ornament Magazine “Stephanie Sersich, Glass Bead Artist” March 2004
  • Washington Post “Head of the Glass: Beads with Pull” August 1, 2002
  • 1000 Glass Beads – Lark Books
  • Beading for the Soul – Interweave Press
  • Beads of Glass – Pyro Press
  • Contemporary Lampworking – Salusa Glassworks
  • Formed of Fire – Salusa Glassworks
  • Exquisite Beaded Jewelry – Krause Publications
  • Designing Jewelry with Glass Beads – Interweave Press, March 2008
  • The History of Beads-100,000 BC to the Present – Lois Sherr Dubin
  • 1000 Beads – Lark Books