Clark County members of Portland Bead Society ‘drawn to bling’

Joy O’Hearn pauses during a beadwork session to consider its appeal.

“I just love color,” O’Hearn said. “I’m drawn to bling.”

She’s not the only one. The Ridgefield woman is one of about 300 members of the Portland Bead Society, which will hold its annual Bead Bazaar this weekend in Portland.

About 40 members are from Clark County, including society President Janis VanWyhe, also of Ridgefield. This week, she joined three other artists — Allison Harper and Roxanna Herrick, both of Vancouver, and O’Hearn — in one of the small-group beading sessions that happen almost every day around Clark County.

VanWyhe has her own way to describe what keeps people focused on such an intricate craft.

“We all share the magpie syndrome: a love of glittering objects,” she said.

When it comes to beading philosophies, however, there are a lot of approaches. Many projects are available in kit form, with all the supplies and patterns included.

“I need structure,” Harper said.

One prominent kit designer is a software development manager, VanWyhe said.

O’Hearn takes the opposite approach.

“No pattern,” said O’Hearn. “I struggle with patterns.”

So, as O’Hearn continues to work on a necklace, “It’s just free-form.”

VanWyhe often relies on another tactic. She lets her beading components figure things out, starting with a focal point.

“I would find a fossil, a ceramic bead, glass bead, often a vintage button,” VanWyhe said. From there, it’s a matter of adding other elements, “finding what looks good together. I put it in a box and let it ferment.”

These beaders also have taken different paths to their art.

VanWyhe said an old college friend would take her to bead shows, and would send her designs to try.

“After three years, I tried something, and I was hooked,” VanWyhe said.

“I was a quilter,” Harper said. “A friend said, ‘Let’s go to the bead store.’ She didn’t show up, and I went anyway.”

“I was a painter,” Herrick said, “and I still do paint. I was decorating a house and looking for beads for pillows.”

After she bought a selection of pearls and garnets, “A friend told me that I could make jewelry,” Herrick said. “I didn’t know making jewelry was a thing.”

And like her bead-making colleagues, Herrick was captivated by one particular aspect: “I love the glittery part.”