On my jewelry making journey I've read lots of books, magazines and web sites to learn the techiques for making jewelry. The following publications, jewelry artists and authors have most inspired me on that journey.
Easy Beaded Jewelry - Susan Ray and Sue Wilke; KP Books; ISBN 0-87349-895-X
This is the first beading book that I bought and it was the best. There is a great variety of jewelry and their instructions are very understandable. I usually didn't have the beads used in their examples but that was a blessing; I was forced to create the designs using what I had. That helped me to become more creative.
Kimberly Berlin, a wonderful teacher at Originals in San Antonio. It was amazing that she could teach this total beginner to create wire jewelry that all my friends admired. http://originalstexas.com/classes.htm
Bead on a Wire: Making Handcrafted Wire and Beaded Jewelry - Sharilyn Miller; North Light Books; ISBN 978-1-58180-650-2
My first wire working book. After Kim Berlin's workshops I was ready to do more. The basics I had learned were reinforced in this book. It is divided into 2 sections, Techniques and Projects. It has a nice variety of projects that referred me back to the techniques that were used.
Bead and Wire Art Jewelry - J. Marsha Michler; Krause Publications; ISBN 978-0-87349-976-7
The jewelry in her book really is "art jewelry," it is an inspiration to me.
Wire Wrapping: the Bascis and Beyond - Jim McIntosh; www.macjewels.com
I wanted to learn to wire wrap cabochons but coundn't find good instructions. Then I found the author's very thorough book, with lots of photos. The title is true he shows how to create the basics while always nudging the reader to created their own designs.
Virginia Adian, an accomplished wire artist taught a workshop where I could wire wrap a cabochon with her direction and help (getting me out of problems).
Cinderhill Style: Simple and Elegant Wire Settings - Cindy Monnich; www.cinderhill.com. Ms Monnich's demonstrations are simple and straight forward. She was a real person that I could watch (over and over) wire wrapping a cabochon.
The Gold Wire Sculpting System - Preston J. Reuther;
www.wire-sculpture.com. In Mr. Reuther's jewelry making series he teaches how to make a large variety of "wire sculptures," for beginner to advanced students. He really made me believe that if I kept practicing, I could do it. You were right, Mr. Preston! He also teaches how to sell jewelry, very detailed instructions and very encouraging. After all, if one's passion is making jewelry then one must sell some of it to finance making more!
Pop With Pizzazz Jewelry: a Crystal Clear Wire Wrap Guide - Raymond Ihrig; www.jewelrywirewrap.com
Are you wired yet?™
I like to wrap free form gemstones. But it would take hours of work before I could figure out how to balance the artistic and the practical, securely holding the stone. After studying Mr. Ihrig's versital technique, I can adapt it to any shape of stone.