Henry County Holiday Bazaar
Annual
event offers a variety of
hand crafted holiday gifts, decor
Beth and Rodney Beck to display their talents
By
Helen E. McKinney
Contributing Writer
NEW CASTLE, Ky. (November 2006) – For years,
Beth Beck had a yearning to craft jewelry. She felt drawn to this craft
but never set aside time to get serious about it. That is, until two
years ago.
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Photo
provided Beth
Beck crafts handmade jewelry |
Beck attended Eastern Kentucky University in 1987 and
1988, majoring in art. While there, “jewelry seemed to spark my
interest, but I could never get into those classes. They were always
full,” said Beck, 37.
She withdrew from college and took a full time job, temporarily pushing
aside her desire to craft jewelry. But two years ago, “I decided
I needed something besides my regular job and it was time I did something
about it,” she said.
Using the Internet as her first tool in researching jewelry making,
Beck read as many books as she could on the topic. Ultimately, “I’m
self-taught and so glad I finally put the time into it.”
Beck’s handcrafted silver jewelry will be among more than 30 booths
displays at this year’s 14th annual Henry County Holiday Bazaar.
The Henry County Extension Homemaker Organization will sponsor this
event from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Nov. 11 at the Henry County 4H-Fairgrounds
Building on Hwy. 421 in New Castle.
There will be many art and craft items for sale by local craftspeople
including music boxes, painted gourds, holiday décor, turned
wooden bowls, oil paintings, soy candles and decorated furniture, as
well as several handmade jewelry booths. Also represented will be the
Smithfield Garden Club, the Henry County Arts and Craft Guild, Senior
Citizens, the Henry County Chamber of Commerce and its cookbook, and
the Town and County Homemakers with their annual Teddy Bear Tree fundraiser.
The bazaar is a great way to find that special holiday gift item, said
Henry County Extension Agent Maryellen Garrison. It is a chance to “purchase
some very unique, one-of-a-kind handcrafted gifts and miss all of those
crowded mall parking lots, while supporting our local agricultural economy.”
This is the third year Beck has participated in this holiday bazaar.
She has also attended the Henry County Christmas Bazaar, Buffalo Crossing
Arts and Crafts spring show, and shows at Elizabethtown and Keeneland.
She has limited her craft show attendance this year somewhat, due to
a pregnancy.
Born in Shelby County, Beck grew up in nearby Henry County and returned
there after marrying in 1994. Her and husband, Rodney, now live in Lawrenceburg,
Ky., where she crafts her jewelry as a part-time job known as BM Studios
Silver Treasures.
All of Beck’s jewelry is handcrafted by bending, cutting, annealing
or soldering the silver. No molds are used, and she only uses natural
gemstones with little or no treatment.
It takes four hours or more to craft each unique piece, particularly
those that require soldering. Those pieces are hand bent, shaped and
soldered with a torch, then filed with needle files to remove rough
edges. The finishing touch consists of polishing them to a high shine
with rotary tools.
Her handcrafted silver necklaces, rings and bracelets are handstrung
using natural pebbled or beaded gemstones such as jasper, citrine, amethyst
and freshwater pearls.
“Silver has gained in popularity, but I’ve always been more
fond of silver rather than gold when purchasing jewelry for myself,”
said Beck.
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Photo
provided Rodney
Beck’s wildlife photographs |
As for the gemstone settings, Beck prefers using Kentucky
Agate because of the “beautiful banded agate pieces are unlike
any other agates.” It can be found in several Kentucky counties
and has beautiful bands of color in red, black, orange, gray and white.
Beck doesn’t have to go far in search of agate. She gets it locally
from Allen Jewell of Versailles, Ky. He cuts his own cabochons (agates
found in geodes in creek beds in Kentucky). So striking is the end result
that almost as soon as she crafts a piece of agate jewelry, it is sold.
Just as striking is her husband’s photography, which will also
be displayed at the bazaar. Rodney Beck, 36, photographs old bridges,
barns, wildlife, waterfalls and nature scenes from Kentucky and abroad.
His goal is to “share the beautiful places and moments in time
I capture with those who may not have the opportunity to see such sights.”
Always interested in photography, Beck became even more enthralled with
it while witnessing the beautiful scenery of the west in 2000.
The hardest technique for Beck to master has been in “capturing
the perfect shot, whether waiting for the right light or just the right
pose by some unsuspecting wildlife.” He often spoke with other
photographers at art shows his wife attended, learning how to perfect
his craft.
Beck has his own part time photography business, Kentucky and Beyond,
which can be visited online at: www.kyandbeyond.com.
Beth Beck’s jewelry can be viewed and ordered from her website
at: www.bmstudiosilver.com.
• For more information on the bazaar, contact Maryellen Garrison at (502) 845-2811.