My family is full of creative people and expressing myself through art was not only encouraged, it was mandatory. Watching my Grandmother bead Christmas ornaments and ball gowns for my Barbie dolls was the beginning of my love affair with beads. My artistic background includes ceramics (my mom is a potter), painting, sculpting, and mosaic. I love so many forms of media it is so difficult to pick just one. After my Grandmother passed away , I was given her bead collection, and everything fell into place for me. I finally feel that I have combined all of my favorite forms of artistic media into one process. I can sculpt pieces, paint them and then "mosaic" with the beads. I carefully place each bead one at a time with tweezers, while it is a labor intensive and time consuming process it is incredibly rewarding. It has been my most treasured hobby for nearly 17 years. My work has a meditative quality for me, it is my quiet time where I can focus, slow down and recharge.
A friend told me about Etsy and encouraged me to sign up and see if I could sell some of the beaded pieces I was making. I scraped together what little money I had and got to work creating a handful of items to list. After my first sale, I was hooked. Thanks to several wonderful people I have met in this marketplace, I am running a steadily growing home business. Etsy was the safe first step for me to put myself and my work out there into the world. Since opening my shop I have branched out to gallery shows, and consignment work as well. No matter where my work takes me, I will be forever thankful for this amazing community of talented individuals, and for taking that first step.

I also have a Bead Supply shop here on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BovettBeads