Naftali's Profile

Bio

My name is Janice Abarbanel and I go by the business name of Naftali. I began my career in jewelry making with the art of bead crochet. Eventually, I wanted to combine metal with the beadwork. So in 1999, I began metalsmithing. I love pendants, so I was always drawn to look for some unusual stone. One day, I found polymer clay and realized I could make my own unusual stone! That was 2003. I have worked diligently in developing my own voice in this medium. Because of my love of metal, I use a lot of metallic paints and crackle them. One can never be exactly like another. I've had many people comment that my beads remind them of the work of Gustav Klimt. His art serves as my constant inspiration.

My biggest accomplishment to date was tying for third place in the Bead & Button "Bead Dreams 2007" competition. My entry (polymer clay beads "Fragments") appeared in the October 2007 issue of Bead & Button magazine. My beads can also be seen in the June 2008 issue of PolymerCAFE. In the August 2008 issue of Simply Beads, I'm one of the polymer clay featured artists!

I graduated with an accounting degree from CCSU but upon graduation, enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design. A lot of my inspiration I find comes from the best class I took at RISD - Color Theory. It was through this class that I learned to look at life through a different lens.
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I am a proud member of the BAO (Bead Art Originals team) whose members and work can be see here: http://beadartoriginals.com/
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Female, Born on October 8

Favorite Materials

polymerclay, sterlingsilver, beads, mesh, chain, goldplate, Naftali, necklaces, earrings, cable, cuff links, business card holders