Warren Feld

For Warren Feld, Jewelry Designer, (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com), beading and jewelry making have been wonderful adventures. These adventures have taken Warren from the basics of bead stringing and bead weaving, to pearl knotting, micro-macrame, wire working, wire weaving and silversmithing, and onward to more complex jewelry designs which build on the strengths of a full range of technical skills and experiences. What excites Warren is finding answers to such questions as: - What does it mean to be fluent and literate in design? - What are the implications for defining jewelry as an "object" versus as an "intent"? - Why does some jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? - How does jewelry design differ from art or craft? - How do you judge a piece as finished and successful? In 2000, Warren founded The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts (CBJA) as the educational program for Be Dazzled Beads-Land of Odds in Nashville, Tennessee. The program approaches education from a Design Perspective. There is a strong focus on skills development. There is a major emphasis on teaching how to make better choices when selecting beads, other parts and stringing materials, and how to bring these altogether into a beautiful, yet functional, piece of jewelry. There are requirements for sequencing classes – that is, taking classes in a developmental order. Theory is tightly wedded to applications throughout the program, from beginner to advanced classes. Since jewelry to be successful, unlike painting and sculpture, must interrelate aesthetics, function and context, much attention is paid to how such interrelationships should influence the designer. Jewelry Design is seen as an authentic performance task. As such, the student explores ideas about artistic intent, shared understandings among all audiences, and developing evidence in design sufficient for determining whether a piece is finished and successful. The design educational program is envisioned as preparing the student towards gaining a disciplinary literacy in design -- one that begins with how to decode the expressive attributes associated with Design Elements to a fluency in the management of Principles of Composition, Construction and Manipulation, as well as the systems management of the design process itself. Warren leads a group of instructors at Be Dazzled Beads (www.bedazzledbeads.com). He teaches many of the bead-weaving, bead-stringing, pearl and hand knotting, wire weaving, jewelry design and business-oriented courses. He works with people just getting started with beading and jewelry making, as well as those with more experience. His pieces have appeared in beading and jewelry magazines and books, including Perlen Posie (“Gwynian Ropes Bracelet”, No. 21, 2014), Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry (“Little Tapestries: Ghindia”, Lark Publications, 2012). One piece (“Canyon Sunrise”), which won 4th place in Swarovski’s Naturally Inspired Competition (2008), is in the Swarovski museum in Innsbruck, Austria. His work has been written up in The Beader’s Guide to Jewelry Design (Margie Deeb, Lark Publications, 2014). He has been a faculty member at CraftArtEdu.com, developing video tutorials. He has been selected as an instructor for the Bead & Button Show, June, 2019, teaching 3 pieces – Japanese Garden Bracelet, Etruscan Square Stitch Bracelet, and ColorBlock Bracelet. In March 2020, Warren led a travel-enrichment program on Celebrity Cruise Lines, centered on jewelry making, beginning with a cruise from Miami to Cozumel and Key West. Personal style: multi-method, intricate color play, adaptive of traditions to contemporary design, experimental. Warren is currently working on these books: SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER, and CONQUERING THE CREATIVE MARKETPLACE and PEARL KNOTTING…WARREN’S WAY. Owner, Be Dazzled Beads in Nashville, and Land of Odds (https://www.landofodds.com ). He is probably best known for creating the international The Ugly Necklace Contest, where good jewelry designers attempt to overcome our pre-wired brains’ fear response for resisting anything Ugly. He has also sponsored All Dolled Up: Beaded Art Doll Competition and The Illustrative Beader: Beaded Tapestry Competition. Articles on Medium.com (https://warren-29626.medium.com/ ) Jewelry Making Kits For Sale (http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/wfjkits.htm ) Artist Statement (http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/wfjartiststatement.html ) Teaching Statement (http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/TEACHING%20STATEMENT.pdf ) Portfolio (http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/PORTFOLIO.pdf ) Testimonials (http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/TESTIMONIALS.pdf ) Video Tutorials (https://so-you-want-to-be-a-jewelry-designer.teachable.com/ ) Design Philosophy (http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/wfjdesignapproach.htm ) warren@warrenfeldjewelry.com www.warrenfeldjewelry.com