Julia Bombardier: Painting with Beads: A Mosaic Approach to Narrative Beadwork
Speaker: Julia Bombardier
Presentation: This presentation examines beadwork as a surface-based art form, where beads function as units of color, light, and texture rather than stitched elements. Working on rigid substrates such as wood, Julia employs a bead mosaic approach that allows for painterly control, precision, and permanence. Through representational and abstract imagery drawn from the natural world, she demonstrates how bead size, orientation, and density can create movement, depth, and energy—much like brushstrokes in painting or tesserae in mosaic traditions.
The talk introduces an alternative technique that expands how bead artists and collectors may think about materials and process. Attendees will gain insight into design planning for rigid surfaces, adhesive selection and application, and how non-stitched methods open new possibilities for scale, durability, and expressive detail. By bridging traditional beadwork, mosaic sensibilities, and contemporary fine art, the presentation offers fresh perspectives on both technique and meaning—showing how beads can tell stories without a single stitch.
Speaker biography: Julia is a bead artist whose work explores narrative, symbolism, and movement through bead mosaic techniques on rigid substrates. Rather than stitching, she builds her compositions by gluing beads directly onto surfaces such as wood, treating each bead as a deliberate mark within a larger visual language. Her work draws inspiration from the natural world and archetypal imagery, translating these themes into richly textured, painterly bead compositions.
With a background that blends analytical problem-solving and creative practice, Julia is particularly interested in reimagining traditional materials through contemporary processes. She enjoys sharing how alternative techniques can expand artistic possibility while honoring the deep cultural history of beads as meaningful objects.
You can visit her website.
DATE: Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 6:45-8:30pm via zoom Meeting, the meeting will open at 6:45 and the presentation will begin promptly at 7pm.
COST: Free to members; $5.00 for non-members or purchase an annual membership for $25.
Payment for Non-Members ($5.00):
To prepare, please go to https://zoom.us/ and follow the directions to access Zoom®. Sadly, BSNC can not provide tech support.
Please RSVP to judysinclair@beadsocietyofnorcal.org. She will send out the Zoom meeting information prior to each class/speaker event and follow up with a reminder email. Spaces are limited, so please RSVP early.