Maggie Meister

PENELOPE’S CROWN

Date: Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14, 2009

Time: 10:00-4:00 each day. This is a two-day class.

Fee: $150.00

Penelope, the wife of the hero Ulysses, remained faithful to him during his 20 year absence.  When many suitors came for her hand, she said she would marry as soon as she had finished weaving a shroud for Laertes, her father-in-law.  In order to remain true to Ulysses, she wove the shroud by day and unpicked her work by night.  When Ulysses finally returned, they were reunited. 

This necklace was inspired by the ancient gold crowns from Greece and Greater Greece.  They were primarily funerary crowns but I have also read that they were often worn on special occasions. 

In this workshop, you will learn to make ivy leaves, oak leaves and acorns using cylinder beads and size 15° seed beads. There is homework for the workshop where you will learn Russian Spiral.  You will also learn to bezel a cameo with seed beads and how to make it a detachable pendant.

Level: Intermediate to advanced. A working knowledge of Peyote Stitch is essential. Pre-class homework is required.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Maggie Meister began beading after “coveting” a pair of earrings worn by her son’s kindergarten teacher. When she learned that the teacher had made them after taking a class, Maggie signed up for a bead class and never looked back.

A move to Naples, Italy in 1998 changed her life in ways she never could have imagined. The rich, lively culture of the Neapolitan people and the ancient mosaics, frescoes, and jewelry designs from Pompeii and the Vesuvius area are a major source of inspiration for her designs. In addition, she has studied at the Mosaic Art School in Ravenna, Italy under Luciana Notturni . This has added to her ability to create beadwork translated from the designs of frescoes and mosaics seen on the floors and walls of abbeys, monasteries and ruins.

Maggie has taught and continues to teach workshops for Beadventure Travel in Italy and Lapidary Journal’s Bead Fest to name a few. Her work has been featured in Beadwork Magazine (Oct/Nov 2006, Feb/March 2007 and Aug/Sept 2007) and profiled in the Italian Magazine, Ravenna Antica (Sept. 2005).