Biography

Kathy King is an award-winning jewelry artist, beading instructor and author of Bead Quilled Jewelry: New Beadwork Designs with Square Stitch. In 2008, Kathy developed an innovative bead weaving technique called “Bead Quilling” in which the holes of the glass beads and thread are exposed, allowing the thread color to become an integral part of the final design. Another signature component of Kathy’s jewelry is the “Beaded Bead” in which she creates intricate beads by weaving hundreds of smaller glass beads together. Kathy’s innovative techniques have landed her sculptural designs on the cover of Bead & Button Magazine and in articles featured in Beadwork, Niche and Giftware News magazines. Kathy’s work is strongly influenced by her engineering background. Her bead quilling technique allows her to weave together sturdy structures, which she can further embellish and build on. For color inspiration and shape combinations, Kathy enjoys looking to historical architecture and cultural patterns from around the world. Bead color and texture combinations inform Kathy’s artistic direction and inspire new pieces. Kathy enjoys trying new things in her work and continues to push the boundaries of bead weaving. She likes to see what new shapes and structures can be built with the beads. Kathy is working on creating a new series of 3D pieces, working with the construction ability the bead quilling technique allows her. Kathy plans to continue sharing her love of beads with others, traveling as often as she can to teach beading classes, while also selling her finished work at art shows.

Artist Statement

I design one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind sterling silver jewelry using a 3D modeling app called ZBrush. It feels like working with clay or wax, only without the mess. Once I have sculpted a design, I print it, have it cast, and then finish the piece in metal by hand. I also cut some of my own stones. As a one-person shop, I do it all. Silver, stones, and computers offer endless possibilities. I can make almost anything that comes into my mind with them. Sometimes the stones even tell me what to create. I love silver for its changeable color and its stubbornness. Each piece teaches me something new about my tools, my process, what I look at, the way I see. My processes are often labor intensive, which gives me space to think without words. I make the work to discover what I am thinking. The finished pieces are detailed, beautiful, and different. More than adornment, they are like wearing a story, a thought, or a conversation. For me, the work is exploration, which is art. I also want it to be worn, which is jewelry. Each piece is both. It is jewelry and art at the same time, an object that tells a story with a point of view.