Fired Up About Beads
Norma Shapiro’s jewelry captures the colors of nature
by Kate Hofstetter


       L’Chaim!, Hebrew meaning “To Life,” is an appropriate name for Norma Shapiro’s jewelry line since her creations, she said, are inspired by life. From oil painting to pottery and stained glass works to her gorgeous jewelry and glass floral sculptures, Shapiro strives to capture the forms and colors of nature.
         Although she loved crafting pottery, a lack of intense colors prompted a switch to stained glass. After 15 productive years, she gave up making stained glass pieces due to an ailing back.
         Creativity, like life, however, will not be stifled.
         Shapiro, a long-time Smith Mountain Lake resident, said the idea for making jewelry stemmed from applying seed beads (tiny beads) and sequins onto costumes she uses for ballroom dancing. It took just a trip or two to the bead store before she became interested in making her own jewelry.
         First, Shapiro learned techniques for weaving seed beads into necklaces. Bead weaving is slow-going, Shapiro said. Her favorite stitches are: peyote, developed by southwest American Indians, which takes an hour to do one inch; Russian Spiral, which progress at 3 inches per hour; and Japanese Kumihimo, a  technique that uses either 8 or 16 strands of seed beads and requires 4-8 hours to complete a 20-inch necklace.
         Once the seed beads have been woven into a round necklace, a large, hollow, cylinder-shaped bead is slipped on. By heating glass to a molten state with a torch flame and wrapping it around a “mandrel” (a stainless steel rod) until the desired size bead is achieved, Shapiro was able to make her own beads, the size of the rod determining the opening and size of the bead.
         As she became proficient at working molten glass, Shapiro experimented with beads of different shapes and sizes. She primarily makes two forms, the cylinder-shaped bead and a round, transparent one she calls a “bubble bead.” She has also developed a necklace that fastens in the front.
         For her flame work, Shapiro uses a “Hot Head Torch” with “MAPP” gas canisters. It is, she said, the type of torch used to teach new students. She also uses a small jewelry kiln (purchased for less than $500) where the hot bead is place to cool. Molten glass must be “annealed” (cooled) slowly or it will crack. The kiln keeps the glass a constant 980 degrees until the “molecules have settled down.”
         Today, after only 8 years of jewelry making, Shapiro, a retired nurse and nursing instructor, has had her jewelry featured in three books: “1000 Glass Beads,” “500 Beaded Objects” and “The Complete Book of Glass Beadmaking.”     
Shapiro’s creations are offered for sale at The Little Gallery at Bridgewater Plaza as well as Artisans Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, Rainbow Tree Gallery in Bedford, and Art On A Mission at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke.

Shapiro’s creations are offered for sale at The Little Gallery at Bridgewater Plaza as well as Artisans Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, Rainbow Tree Gallery in Bedford, and Art On A Mission at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke