Master Class Heidi Kummli

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In this workshop you will bead embroider an object of your choosing. You will also learn about exploring with epoxy clay and different ways to incorporate clay into challenging situations.

The class will start with a presentation to get your creative thoughts flowing about different techniques and ideas. We will then start the design and brainstorming session, using masking tape and paper to make a pattern to cover the object. You will transfer the patterns onto Ultra Suede and, if needed, sew them together. Using components and beads that you bring along, you will lay out and design your piece on the pattern.

Bead embroidery techniques will be used to cover the foundation. Heidi will also provide an assortment of components, such as cabochons, fur, metal, and many more, to purchase. A $30 credit is included in the kit to purchase these supplies. The choice of objects is personal and totally up to the student. Please feel free to email Heidi with any questions you may have; she wants this to be a fun and informative class, with solutions to any challenges we may find.

Before the class begins in June, choose an object you wish to bead. The item should be no larger than 6” x 6” with some exceptions. Curvy objects are more challenging; flat boxes or a chest will be easier to work with, but of course the choice of object is up to you! Please email a picture of your object to Heidi so she can begin to anticipate any challenges the shape might pose. Heidi's email heidikummli@gmail.com

Heidi will have instruction on different basic techniques you can use in bead embroidery and epoxy clay. Heidi encourages you think about a certain technique you wish to learn from her. Give it some thought and pass your ideas along with the photo of the object you intend to bead!

Who should take this class?

This class is appropriate for intermediate beaders.

3-day class fee: $1,145 plus $60 kit fee.

Added benefits for Master Class students:

• Waived registration fee.
• Advance registration for general classes.
• Fun-filled tote bag.
• Special event tickets.
• Graduation celebration.
• Transportation to class location.
• Breakfast and lunch on class days.
• Commemorative Show bead, pin, and T-shirt.

Heidi started working with beads in 1975 and remembers making jewelry even as a young child; it came naturally for her. Like her Chippewa great-grandmother, Heidi listens to her heart and the beadwork just seems to flow. Heidi's great-grandmother Nora did bead work for Vaudeville, although Heidi did not know this until after she had been beading for many years.

Heidi’s work has been displayed all across the globe. She has been a finalist and award winner in the prestigious BeadDreams competition by Bead&Button magazine every year since 2002.  In 2003 Heidi won 1st Place for her beadwork in the Saul Bell Awards Competition, put on by the Rio Grande Gems and Findings catalog. Heidi’s work has also been on the cover of Fire Mountain Gems and Beads catalog and magazines. In 2008 Heidi had the opportunity to design a beaded tea box cover for Celestial Seasonings Tea. The original piece of beadwork is on permanent display at Celestial Seasonings in Boulder, Colorado.

Heidi teaches private workshops and also spiritual bead classes at her mountain home in the summers. She has been a teacher, along with her good friend Sherry Serafini, at the Colorado Bead Retreat since it started in 2013.

Artist's Statement:

“My beadwork flows through my fingers with the greatest of ease. Each bead is sewn down using bead embroidery techniques, knowing exactly where to rest. I allow spirit or perhaps the universe to express itself through me. I can’t take credit for the results, as it is deeper than myself."

“I have been a spiritual person most of my life, and in 2011 I came across an online course called Shamanism 101. I now teach the same course. Shamanism is a spiritual practice that brings healing into the world. It is about being connected to the Earth and all the diversity around us, paying attention to the omens in our everyday lives. When we surround ourselves with this beautiful spiritual connection, honoring it through ceremony, ritual, and practice, we ourselves can become whole and thus reflect it back into the world."

I feel that same way about my beadwork, I hope that each piece I make brings a sense of healing and peace into the world. My work has always been a reflection of my surroundings. By using animals and natural stones in my work I feel in some way I am passing along that connection that sadly so many of us have forgotten."