The Bead-Attitudes

During our 2009 Mission Trip, Julie Jones came to the Mission House at Edge Outreach to share a devotion with us. Julie does glass-bead making for a hobby/avocation. She has designed a devotional talk which she shares as she makes the beads, comparing the heat and stresses on the glass which eventually produces a thing of great beauty. So many times, it's what we go through, with God redeeming the suffering, which makes us a thing of beauty in His eyes, and very often, in the eyes of the world we seek to serve. Here are some pictures of Julie at work, and the finished product of her labors. (She made enough that night that each team member could have a bead, and she does that for each team that comes through Edge Outreach.) Click on the picture for more detail:

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Notice the glass rods to Julie's right. These rods are heated in an oxygen/propane torch, and the melted glass is applied to thin rods coated with a clay compound (which later softens in water, allowing the beads to be removed from the rod.) The gray paddle is used to shape the bead, and maintain its roundness. A special type of lens in the glasses enables one to see through the flame and see what you're doing. (They also protect the eyes!) Julie says some people are a bit "smart" with her and say, "I can get those at WalMart." Her answer is, "Yes, and no. What you get at WalMart have been made by little girls bent over a torch 8 or more hours a day, paid mere pennies for their labor. Plus, the beads have not been annealed, a process in which the beads (created in 1200 degree temperatures), are held at 940 degrees for a half-hour. This allows any tensions in the bead to relax, so that it won't explode or break at the merest tap. What looks like a wad of aluminum foil is NOT a baked potato, but an asbestos-lined pouch in which Julie places each bead fresh from the torch, so that it won't cool too quickly.

Julie can be contacted at: Simple Grace Jewelry, julie926@insightbb.com, or 502.387.0759, and her website is at simplegracejewelry.etsy.com