Cindy Holsclaw  Classes via Zoom!

Cindy Holsclaw has dabbled in crafts for longer than she can remember, but she’s always been most fond of geometric structures. After many years of exploring these mathematical forms in modular origami, in 2006 she learned that these structures could also be made with beads. From then on, she was hooked! In 2009 Cindy started writing patterns for her own beading designs, and in 2012 she dove into designing and teaching beadwork full-time.
With a background in academia and a doctorate in biochemistry, Cindy takes an analytical approach to her design style; she likes exploring different bead shapes and variations on the established beading techniques, and she’s constantly thinking of new ways to put beads together. Biochemistry and mathematics continue to inspire her and often show up in her finished work. As an educator, Cindy challenges her students to learn something new in every class, while giving them the tools they need through her very detailed beading patterns.
In 2015 Cindy was named Designer of the Year by Beadwork Magazine, and a series of her beading videos were published by Interweave in the same year. Cindy has taught at the Bead & Button, Bead Fest, and BABE! shows as well as at several bead stores and bead societies around the country. When not on the road, Cindy makes her home in San Diego, California with her musician husband and daughter.

Friday, May 20 - The Orb

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Stitch a stunning orb of crystals! The word "orb" describes a sphere or a globe and comes from the Latin word orbis, which means circle or disc. While "sphere" or "ball" describes the same round geometric structure, Orbs are fanciful, poetic, or fantastical in nature. Orbs of all kinds feature in both classical and contemporary art, from ancient depictions of planetary bodies, to royal regalia, to sought after symbols in virtual games. While still spherical, this particular orb has an underlying geometric structure of a dodecahedron, joining its fantastical radiance to solid mathematics.

This piece features a dozen rivoli crystals surrounded by shimmering flat back crystals, all joined together using the geometry of a dodecahedron. You'll use a combination of peyote and right-angle weave to stitch the rivolis into place, and then you'll use additional variations on peyote to decorate the pendant with the flat back crystals. The Orb is stunning on its own as an objet d'art, or you can add a matching bail to wear it as a pendant. The smaller crystals also decorate its matching beaded chain, which you'll weave using cubic right-angle weave (CRAW) and double cubic right-angle weave (DCRAW). This class is appropriate for students who are already proficient in CRAW and who would like to explore the geometry of a dodecahedron.

Prerequisites: Students should be proficient in CRAW and peyote stitch, and should be comfortable working with size 15° seed beads. Knowledge of DCRAW is helpful but not required.

Skill level: Advanced

Saturday, May 21 - Links of the Lotus Necklace

Stitch an elegant lotus from seed beads and metal links! The lotus is a fascinating plant with a long, rich history. Lotus plants grow in ponds, flood plains, and slow-moving rivers, anchoring their roots to the mud at the riverbed and rising up to six feet through the water to bloom at the surface. Several varieties of lotus are cultivated both for consumption and ornamentation, as its flowers display remarkable beauty and symmetry. As a plant that both survives and thrives in the murky water of a flooded river, it's no wonder that the lotus flower has become a key spiritual symbol across many diverse faiths.

To create this necklace, you'll combine metal lotus links with networks of seed beads and a dash of crystals. This project uses unusual thread paths to accommodate the metal links, as well as bits of netting and peyote. Once the metal pieces are secured, the rest of the individual components come together elegantly and quickly as you bezel the crystals and add the embellishment beads. You'll use a variation on right-angle weave (RAW) to connect the individual components together, and finish the necklace with a matching beaded chain.
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Prerequisites: Students should be experienced in CRAW and peyote stitch, and should be comfortable working with size 15° seed beads.
Skill level: Intermediate

Sunday, May 22 - Ode to the Passion Flower

Stitch an ode to a passionflower! The passionflower is a gorgeous exotic flower that gives us the delicious passionfruit. The passionflower is carefree and follows her own style, and isn't afraid to be wild and weird. In this spirit, this necklace pays tribute to the passionflower without completely replicating its botanical structure.
This piece features a stunning beaded flower stitched with dagger beads and Japanese seed beads, surrounded by glass leaf beads. You'll use a combination of peyote and a few flavors of right-angle weave, along with some very odd thread paths. You'll finish the necklace with two lengths of matching spiral rope.
Prerequisites: Students should be proficient in peyote stitch and spiral rope, and should be ready to try some very weird thread paths.
Skill level: Intermediate
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We’ll keep you posted! 

Class Prices and Information
Zoom Classes - $95/day
1/2 day of classes - $50
1 day of classes - $95
2 days of classes - $180
3 days of classes - $270
​Each additional day - $90


 Please note:  Classes begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
To register, please call (312) 316-1910 or email citybeads.chicago@gmail.com.  Payment is due at the time of registration and will be refunded only in the event another student can fill your seat.