Hit the High Seas for a Beader's Retreat

On January 17th, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas will take to the ocean carrying a bevy of bead enthusiasts. The 2010 Bead Cruise will set sail from Port Canaveral, Florida, and passengers will spend seven nights learning and working with beads, meeting new friends, and having the kind of fun that only a sea cruise can bring. The ship will stop in exotic ports of call including the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas.

The Bead Cruise is open to bead artists of all skill levels: Beginners who have taken only a few classes (or none); crafters who have some experience with seed beads and have experience doing basic beading stitches; and intermediate beadworkers who have taken other classes or completed individual projects on their own using specialized techniques. Registration for the cruise includes one full-day class and one half-day workshop. Some of the instructors are also offering one extra class for Bead Cruise participants, to be held on the last day of the cruise.

The bead retreat will feature classes about mixed-media beading, metalwork, bead weaving, wire wrapping techniques, and filigree, among other topics. Hands-on projects will include wire work, metalwork, bead embroidery, beading off-loom, and unique and delicate bead-stringing design projects. Classes are focused on quality instruction with innovative bead crafting designers. The instructors lined up for classes are world-renowned teachers:

Margie Deeb is an artist, musician, designer, and color expert who has written several books about beading. Her most popular books are The Beader’s Guide to Color and The Beader’s Color Palette. Margie has been a guest on the PBS show "Beads, Baubles, and Jewels," and she writes a monthly online column about color. She also produces a graphic-enhanced podcast, available on iTunes, called "Margie Deeb’s Color Celebration."

Barb Switzer has been studying, practicing, and teaching beadwork for more than 14 years. The former editor of Simply Beads, Barb has a passion for beading that has led her to study many techniques in addition to wire, her specialty. She is accomplished in fusing, beadweaving, and making glass bead jewelry, and has recorded a number of classes for an online educational site, Beaducation.com. Barb has traveled around the country teaching classes, attending bead shows, and meeting and swapping tales with people who share her love of beadwork. Her website features descriptions of the classes she teaches, as well as a gallery of her beading kits available for purchase.

Melanie Brooks is a ceramic artist who specializes in the miniature beads and jewelry. In her home studio she has been designing and selling ceramic jewelry and beads for more than 10 years, since graduating from art school. She has displayed and sold her creations at numerous bead stores, galleries, and bead shows, and her jewelry designs have appeared in many publications devoted to beadwork.

Mary Hettsmansperger is a jewelry/fiber artist who is well experienced in exhibiting and teaching throughout the United States and abroad. She has lent her knowledge of jewelry, design, quilting, and basket making to guilds and venues including Arrowmont, Convergence, Bead and Button, and national conferences. The author and illustrator of two books on jewelry, Mary’s artwork is on permanent display at SOFAChicago. She has been a guest on several PBS programs and published articles in numerous magazines.

Beverly Herman is an expert with various beading techniques. For the past 15 years, she has worked to translate her experience into finely tuned individual design sensibilities that she teaches and shares with students. She serves as an instructor at classes and bead retreats throughout the southern United States, and her writings have been published in national bead magazines and several beadwork books. She has also written pattern books including A Touch of Russian Elegance and The Russian Dragonfly.

For endless gourmet food, great entertainment, and hours of relaxing, swimming, and lounging, there is nothing like a Royal Caribbean cruise. Combine those fantastic activities with workshops, classes, open beading sessions, a bead bazaar, and a cocktail party where you can meet beaders from all around the country, and you have the 2010 Bead Cruise. Come on aboard and hit the high seas for a luxury bead retreat!