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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 at the Shepherdess and never looked
back. She spent the next four years in the Seattle area, studying with the
wonderful teachers at Beads & Beyond in Bellevue, Washington and then began
teaching and working at the shop. Two pieces of her work were selected for
Absolutely Beads in 1997.
A move to Naples, Italy in 1998 changed her
life forever and 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 and learned the ancient
traditional methods of creating mosaics. 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. Sculptural
reflections from the images she loves are translated into jewelry using seed
beads with a variety of stitches.
Maggie has taught and continues to teach
workshops for Beadventure Travel in Italy, Beads & Beyond, Bellevue,
Washington, NanC Meinhardt Studio and Lapidary Journal’s Bead Fest to name a
few. Her work has been profiled (September 2005) in the Italian Magazine,
Ravenna Antica and in Beadwork Magazine. |
