Introducing: Kinga's Artistry Alliance Series!

 I am so excited to announce that I will be offering a series of joined workshop sessions with some of my favorite artists!

I have been thinking about finding a way to collaborate with my fellow creators for years! Putting such a thing together is not an easy task though. Especially, when the things I want to do together take time, sometimes specialized equipment, and usually are not the sort of thing you do on Zoom.

But there is something inherently beautiful about building a system with this many moving parts. A system that benefits beaders who will be learning interesting new skills, one that will offer my collaborators and I to brainstorm in ways neither of us would be doing on our own, and also to do this under the umbrella of my best friend and mentor, Beki Haley's organization, Beaders Dream Retreat, industry leader of online and in-person bead retreat and class organization. 

In my mind, the best, most beneficial business and artistic ventures are the ones where everyone involved is benefitting and what we do together is better than- and bigger than its parts.

 It's like this:broccoli is lovely. And a block of cheese is pretty awesome. And so is a nice bit of broth. But the magic they create with a few more extra ingredients in the form of the soup that comes from them- especially on a snowy day like today- surpasses all their greatness and warms that tummy and soul!

Premise of the Series

During these classes bead embroidery enthusiasts will have the opportunity to learn new skills that will either result in creating focals they can use in one of Kinga's designs, created specifically around the work of the collaborating artist, or learn other valuable methods and techniques taught by carefully selected artists who are known for excellence in their field. These techniques will also be incorporated into a design by Kinga.

The classes will be held on Zoom and each class taught by the two artists will be a full day six hour Zoom session. They will not take place during the same weekend because the skills and techniques you learn from Kinga's collaborators may involve multi step and time consuming processes. The classes will be spaced far enough apart to allow students ample time to complete the focal or component they will need for Kinga's project.

In some classes specialized equipment that is too expensive for students to purchase may be required to finish their pieces. If this situation arises, students will mail their work in progress back to the teacher for completion. A good example is Volume I, where one of the objectives is creating porcelain eye cabochons with Kelly Schweda. Students will send their glazed porcelain pieces back to Kelly for firing and Kelly will then ship the finished pieces back to them. All shipping in both directions will be made easier by the inclusion of return labels for the students.

 I created this series to collaborate with artists I admire and to bring my loyal following new and exciting challenges by introducing you to new skills. Some of my collaborators may be familiar to you, while others may be completely new.

Working alongside these accomplished artists you will learn tips and tricks of their trade and gain a glimpse into their creative world. Many of the items you create with them may require highly specialized equipment you would not normally have access to use. With these Zoom classes you can stay in the comfort of your own home and explore creative processes that would usually be too expensive to try. It is a fun and inspiring way to learn about these techniques and decide if you want to pursue them further on your own.

Once you have your special focal or component in hand you will enjoy working on a project I designed specifically to make your piece shine. Whatever you create with my collaborator, know that I will always do everything I can to help you showcase it beautifully by building a bead embroidered world around it that enhances its beauty.

If thinking outside the box and jumpstarting your creativity is something you want to give yourself in 2026, I hope you will consider joining my fellow artists and me on this highly original creative journey.

Your Bundle for Each Collab Class Will Include

• Kit from Kinga
• Kit from Collab Artist
• Printed instructions from Kinga
• Lifelong access to full length video course from Kinga
• Lifelong access to full length video course from Collab Artist
• All shipping associated with the project
• Two full days of Zoom sessions
• Exclusive access to Zoom trunk show by both artists
• Early access to information and signups for the next volume
• Lifelong access to an online platform where you can connect with other class participants to share, make friends, learn, and ask questions of either artist

My first collaborator is my friend Kelly Schweda. Here is her bio:

Kelly Schweda

Kelly Schweda is a multi-media artist from Michigan and has had a very interesting career path. It began with a bachelor’s degree in fine art, concentrating in painting and metalsmithing. Although her first loves were painting and jewelry, she still took quite a few classes in ceramics, drawing and art history.

From there she soon pivoted and began to work in the field of domestic and sexual violence. While both aspects of her life pulled her into different directions, it somehow began to fit together. Kelly earned her masters degree in Women’s Studies, with concentrations in sociology and educational psychology. She continues to work in the field of domestic and sexual violence through the majority of her career.

Although her career may have drawn her in one direction, her art continued to pull her in another. Kelly’s main medium has been jewelry for quite some time. She frequently participates in Fine Art shows across Michigan. She describes her work as romantic and complicated, both reflecting her love of art history and creating something unique and empowering for people to draw strength or joy from.

While others were making sour dough bread during the pandemic, Kelly began making porcelain components as a creative challenge. This new avenue was a perfect blend of her skills as a ceramic, paint and jewelry artist. This also allows her to create unique, inspiring pieces to spark creativity and joy for other artists.

Now, let's see about the project:

Kelly Schweda's  porcelain eye cabochon glazing class will take place on Zoom, on February 15th, from 10:00am - 4pm, Eastern time.

Kinga's Winged Victory bead embroidery class will be conducted on March 14th, from 10:00 am-4pm , Eastern time

In your kit form Kelly  you will receive 5 cabochon bisques. A bisque is a piece of porcelain that has already been fired once, preparing it for glazing. You will only use 2 of these in Kinga's class, but we want to make sure that you get to perfect your technique and that you end up with cabs you can also use in your own designs too.

Your kit will also contain blue underglaze to paint with, clear glaze, 4 brushes, a  little tray to work from, a piece of watercolor paper to sample your glaze on, and safe packaging with a return label to mail your finished cabs back to Kelly for firing.

 Your focals will be fired 3 times to get optimal results. In order to make sure you get your own cab back, your 5 bisques will come with your initials glazed on to the back of your bisques. This also serves the purpose of you not having to worry about which side is the front and which side is the back.

When it comes to the blue underglaze, think of it as black and white print: it's a monochromatic scale, so the blue is not representative of blue eye color, it's just that blue stays pretty true when fired and it's the most often used color in porcelain glazing historically. This is not the same for black or brown, oftentimes they fade, turn grey or completely burn out. So if you want to create a representation of more pigmented skin, you would just use more blue to create a darker skin tone. Kelly will also have samples  for different eye shapes, including almond shaped eyes, more hooded eyelids, or rounder eye shapes. Eyebrow is optional. 

It is crucially important that you only use the glaze and underglaze provided. They are the proper ones for the kiln's firing schedule. Using anything else is prohibited as it may cause damage to the kiln and in it, the entire class' focals. Use of any other paint, glaze or enamel may also ruin the kiln. It is a requirement for participation in this class that you agree to only use the glazes provided.

During Kelly's class you will not only learn to paint eyes, but you will familiarize yourself with  the entire process from clay to glazed and lustered cabochon. Your finished cabochon will be lustered: lustering is the application of precious metal- in this case 22k white gold. Once your focal has been fired after you glaze it, Kelly will apply a golden gleam to each eye and fire it one more time to make your cab extra special.

After each firing it takes a couple days for  the focals to cool off to  be ready for the next step, or for shipping it back to you. This is all a lengthy process, and so Kinga's class is an entire month after Kelly's class to make sure you have your finished focals ready to go, in your hands.  There is going to be quite a bit of shipping back and forth to make all this happen.

I hope the thing you are thinking right now is where do you sign up? Perhaps, you want some more details. Signups will start on the 12th of December on the Beaders Dream Retreat website, which is where all the info about this class lives. 

On the main page hover over Special Classes. When you do so, you can pick from Kinga's Artistry Alliance Series, Kinga and Kelly Collaboration Class, Artisan Bios and a message from me, Kinga.