Nancy Valle - Tree Jewelry

Are these not the most amazing ceramic beads?

I wear this stretchy bracelet all the time - my friend Nancy Valle made it using her beads.
Sometimes I go to her studio and putter around with clay and make my own beads.
I'm not a big fan of clay, it's sticky and dirty (literally - as in made of dirt), unpredictable and stinky.
But O how I love stuff made out of it.

Her studio is an astonishing space full of her sculptures, drawings, materials and inspirational stuff.
She rarely  makes beads anymore, so I am very lucky to have one of her bracelets.

That giant piece that is suspended in front of the windows is meant to hang outdoors in a tree.
Yes, she calls these pieces "tree jewelry."
Individual components, which are like giant ceramic beads, are strung on thick metal cables (just like bead-a-lon), crimped and then worn by the lucky trees.