Meet Jamie Cloud Eakin – Life is Too Short to Wear Ordinary Jewelry
Jamie Cloud Eakin’s name is synonymous with beadwork. Jamie’s love of beads expresses itself in designs that can be complex and exquisite or easy and fun. Over the last two plus decades, Jamie has shared her expertise as a professional bead artist in books and many downloadable projects; she is an artist, teacher, and perpetual student of our craft.
A maven of the beadworld, Jamie is represented in fine galleries across the U.S., has won many Fire Mountain Gem contests, and has pieces available for purchase on her website. Along with sharing her own creations, Jamie generously shares her skills, having instructed beaders at workshops, the Bead & Button Show, and through projects featured in magazines, books and offered in her Etsy shop, StudioJamie.
In fact, her journey as an author began when students of her beading workshops urged her to write a book, so she did! Beading with Cabochons, a beading classic, was her first book of 18!
You can find a series of video lessons on YouTube. Lessons include bead embroidery, loomwork, fringes, and edge stitching. My personal favorite lesson was on the cubic right angle weave. Jamie’s unique stitching path made sense to my brain, which had previously been perplexed by this stitch.
Beginning with peyote and loomwork back in the ‘90s, Jamie now favors bead embroidery for its ease in incorporating genuine stones. And through the years, Jamie developed many techniques that allowed her to pivot designs with beautiful results, which led her to her current body of work – she is finishing the fourth and final volume in her series titled Bead Embroidery Techniques.
Jamie’s personal beading palette preference is monochrome, often neutrals and sometimes adding metallic accents. Skilled in techniques, Jamie designs with shape and texture to add variety. But, to inspire beaders and buyers, she has expanded her palette to every color.
I think that it speaks to Jamie’s talent and skill that her style is amazingly varied, and appealing to many tastes. And with an endless well of creativity, once her current book is done, Jamie knows she will set new beading goals, which is wonderful to hear!
“Beading,” says Jamie, “is relaxing and healing. It provides something to my spirit that nothing else can really do.” Prompted by her husband’s observations, Jamie recommends heading for your beading if you get a case of snippiness! I can relate to that!!
Until next month, you’ll find me beading, lest I become snippety, Cathy
(Originally published September 1, 2022)