AJDJSS Featured Studio, LA Jewelry Designs

I decided a while back that one of the things I was going to try to start doing on my blog is a weekly feature of the Artfire Jewelry Design & Jewelry Supply Shops Guild (AJDJSS) artist/studio of the week. So here goes!

This week's featured artist is Lea Avroch of LA Jewelry Design. She has a studio on Artfire as well as a shop on Etsy. Lea creates amazing beads. She is a self representing artist (SRA member) and has had her work shown in the June 2007 Bead & Button, the September/October 2007 Belle Armoire, the November/December 2007 Bead Trends and the March/April 2008 Bead Trends.

Lea was kind enough to answer a few questions for me to share.

How did you get into beadmaking?

Hubby & I both have an appreciation for the glass arts. We have a collection of glass sculptures in our house that we've collected over the years. I saw a glass blowing demo years ago by Randy Strong & was mesmorized. I knew I couldn't handle the big stuff, but when a friend asked me to take a lampwork class with her at a local art league, I jumped on it. I fell in love immediately and have not looked back.

What other crafts have you tried your hand at?

I love beading with seedbeads, knitting and reading. I have a good friend that enjoys beading & knitting as well. We usually try to get together at least once a month to bead together. She's a much more experienced knitter than I am so I know I can always count on her with help there too.

Favorite color? (or do you have more than one?)

This is tough! I have so many colors that I love! My absolute favorites though are purple, chartreuse, teal and turquoise. I guess it's apropos since my horoscope sign is Aquarius.

Do you have a favorite technique or style?

Not so much a technique, but I probably prefer making focal beads or pendants rather than sets of beads. I prefer making one of a kind beads for this reason. That, and that I'm also bad about taking notes when I'm torching so I often find it hard to duplicate a design, especially in boro, where there's a huge learning curve as far as getting a desired color reaction from the glass. In boro, often the rods are 1 color, but when melted they're a completely different color. I find this fascinating and also frustrating at the same time.

If you won a thousand dollars what would you spend it on?

This one's easy! I'd spend it on building myself a free standing studio in the backyard with heat and lighting. My studio is currently in my garage so it's a bit cramped in there. I'd love to have a space that's all for me and my crafts!

Thank you Lea for taking the time to answer my questions and sending me a couple of pictures to use.