Friday, October 12, 2012

Artisans Helping Out

There are many artisans out there that do some really cool things to help out other people.  Right now in the UK, Jolene of Kitzbitz Art Glass is holding a Beadathon. All the beads made and funds raised will be donated to the Beads of Courage Programme. for children and teens with cancer.
This is a brief explanation about the program from the Beads of Courage page: "The Beads of Courage Programme is a new concept being introduced in the UK which is designed to support children going through their treatment. It allows them to tell their story using colourful beads. The beads are used as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate different milestones such as blood transfusions, bone marrow transplants, hospital stays, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Their beads build up over time into a unique record of what they have been through. Some days are really tough for these kids. However, the beads are used for encouragement and say to everyone “that was tough….but….I did it” "
Because they need lots of  program beads, they are are commercially manufactured, with different beads representing different treatments.
The kids are given Beads of Courage, that are artisan made to "acknowledge the milestones in their treatment journey". They expect to need about 100,000 of these beads this year.  
I celebrate these artisans for their contribution to this awesome program.  

I've been a member of HandMadeArtistsForum for a few years, and have been delighted to see some of the awesome beads Jolene makes.  
I love these Glacial Powder Beads European Charm Bead and silver Bracelet













and these fun Romantic Custom Buzzword Beads in her shop on HandMadeArtists













To see even more of Jolene's wonderful lampwork beads, visit her blog Kitzbitz Art Glass, or her flickr page, Kitzbitz Art Glass by Jolene's Photostream, ( lots of great pics of her awesome beads!), but also remember to check out the Beads of Courage Programme


2 comments:

Miss Val's Creations said...

What a wonderful program! I can not even begin to imagne what these children go through. These beads will be a constant reminder of their strength over the years.

Unknown said...

It is - I think it's so cool that they do this! the beads that Jolene and her fellow bead makers made are so cool!