Kathy

King

Kathy King is an award-winning jewelry artist, instructor and author of Bead Quilled Jewelry. She uses needle and thread to weave thousands of glass beads together to form wearable beaded sculptures. Originally from New York, Kathy earned a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force before moving to North Carolina. In 2008, Kathy developed an innovative beading technique called Bead Quilling in which the holes of the beads are exposed, allowing the thread color to become an integral part of the final design. Kathy’s technique has landed her 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 but flexible 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. For over 19 years, Kathy traveled the United States selling her unique pieces at fine craft shows and teaching beading workshops. She has currently been a member of the Cary Gallery of Artists since 2021.

I create wearable beaded sculpture using my original bead quilling technique that allows me to weave tiny glass beads together to create shapes that are sturdy yet flexible. I combine my bead quilled pieces with my beaded beads, where I weave small beads together to form larger, more intricate beads. My lifelong love of math and architecture influences my designs, as I combine my bead quilled shapes with different beaded bead designs to create geometric and architectural shapes seen throughout history. I aim to create beaded pieces that are not recognizable as beads at first glance, challenging the observer to rethink the definition of beadwork.

Fiber Art, Jewelry, Mixed Media

www.kathykingjewelry.com

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