Diana Arseneau-Powell

Magpie & Badger

It's not by accident that I've taken the magpie as a symbol for my creations.
Is anyone immune to the charm of shiny things- When we see them we long to run them through our fingers, have them to look at, wear them. Badger is me, it's a nickname.

I create glass and jewellery pieces that draw attention. The centre of each
is my own handmade lampworked beads, made in Italian Moretti and German Lauscha glass, an ages old technique of melting and winding, combined with modern technology in kiln annealing, which removes stresses in the glass and prevents it from cracking.

The individual focal beads are combined with my own spacer beads along with sterling silver. The wires are sterling, the wirework and clasps are my own.

The look of the beads stems from a number of sources, including  the quality of the glass itself, a material that can be both molten and frozen
 
I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, studied dance, theatre and
ceramics at university, worked as a radio presenter, learned to draw from Betty Edwards (author of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"), taught creative courses in Germany, moved to the UK to study art therapy, learned glass bead making and aspects of silversmithing. I believe that we all have a creative core that doesn't rely on degrees or having permission from anyone else to bring our creations to life.

Commissions can be undertaken, or existing pieces adapted to specific tastes and needs