“Although I really loved my work as a teacher of young children, in 2003 my life changed a lot! I met my soul mate Peter and moved to Arizona where we were married, and a year later our beautiful daughter Anya was born. Then a Russian friend living in Japan sent me a beautiful, red beaded rose as a Christmas gift. I thought, ‘is it possible to make something as lovely as Mother Nature creates? Probably not, but sometimes copies can be worth that of the original.’ That is when I fell in love with beads and wire. My first experience was to make a beaded Money Tree. In spite of the fact that it looks like an old untrimmed tree and has a lot of ‘technical’ mistakes, I still love it.”

Albina then discovered The Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ where displays include the incredible beadwork of Lana May from Phoenix. Just ‘down-the-road’, Albina contacted Lana who inspired Albina’s jewelry making hobby (which was a perfect fit for the stay-home-mom). The two are now close friends.

Albina now enjoys teaching at The Bead Museum, The Beaderie, and at the J.O.G.S Gem & Jewelry Show, (where she and Dale ‘Cougar’ Armstrong became friends). Her work Bonsai Shakkan has been used by Fire Mountain Gems both as a back cover advertisement and inside their catalog. In 2009 Albina won the 1st Place Gold Medal award with her piece titled ‘Inca’s Gold Necklace’ in FMG’s wirework category. She has been published in ‘Art Bead Circle Magazine’ as well as in an upcoming book ‘Mixed Media Jewelry Techniques’, (available at the JOGS show February 2010). Learn more about Albina on her website: http://www.around-beads.info

Sonja has a Master’s Degree in Studio Art and presently teaches art at the middle school level.  She has previously exhibited and worked in a variety of art media including watercolor, pencil, and photography.  Before venturing into the world of wire, she had previously exhibited and sold jewelry made from wood and oven baked clay. Sonja now admits that making and creating her own wire jewelry designs is her favorite artistic endeavor, as she loves taking an idea or inspiration and forming it into a piece of wearable art.  She credits her love of creating wire jewelry to the teaching and encouragement from Dale.

Sonja has recently published her first wire jewelry pattern in Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry, and also has a design featured in Dale’s new Book “Wirework.”  Sonja resides in eastern Kentucky with her husband and their son.

For relaxation from the tedious glass work Lindi has been creating for nineteen years, she started ‘playing’ with glass fusing. Her husband, Larry Haefner, insisted that she find something to do with the numerous nuggets and glass pieces that were accumulating all over her shop. The answer came three years ago, when Lindi took a wire wrapping class with Dale ‘Cougar’ Armstrong and learned how to incorporate all of those glass pieces into beautiful, wire jewelry designs.

Lindi displays her work in local gift shops and boutiques, as well as in juried art shows and at bridal fairs. Her favorite jewelry venue is her own ‘Stained Glass by Lindi’ studio, located in Williamsport, PA.  Lindi is an awesome, stained-glass artist who also enjoys being one of ‘Cougar’s’ teaching assistants at various jewelry-making events.

She can be contacted via her website: http://www.suzannesjewelry.com/

Sherrie Lingerfelt is a native of the Deep South and a full-time, high school math teacher who has always had her hands in one craft or another.  Her interest in jewelry making began more than twenty years ago, by mixing macramé with fossils and stones, which progressed into beading.  After discovering the Wire-Sculpture website many years ago, Sherrie’s fascination with wire led her to meet and take classes with Dale ‘Cougar’ Armstrong and her life changed forever.

Sherrie is now a wire jewelry artist who combines her Native American heritage with her love of geometry and nature, to create fabulous wire jewelry designs that have taken many awards.  Her inspiration comes from various sources, and she is often seen pulling out an ever present, mini-notebook to sketch lines from architecture as future ‘design fodder’.  Sherrie and her husband Larry live on their farm in Fyffe, Alabama.  

Dale/Cougar, has a diverse art background, training in two-dimensional art with Carl Haskins of Vermont, and William Keyworth of New Hampshire. She also spent several years receiving personalized instruction with Karl Drerupe, renowned cloisonné and repossé artist. Dale attended the University of South Florida where she studied fine arts and geology. She worked as a technical, advertising artist for several years, ‘before the age of computers’.

Under her studio name of Cougar’s Creations, Dale displays her works at juried art shows, where she has taken many awards. As a featured artist, Dale has been interviewed on live television and has works for sale in museums and galleries.  Dale “Cougar” Armstrong is a regular contributor to Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine and has been published in The Wire Artist Jeweler, Bead Unique and Art Jewelry magazines. She is a frequent instructor at Lapidary Journals’ BeadFest events, and has made a series of instructional DVDs, produced by Jewelry Television. As an instructor, she conducts workshops in her personal studio and by request, travels to teach classes at beadshops and other events nationwide. She has recently been one of many wire jewelry experts showcased by Wire-Sculpture.com through their tips, articles and other wire jewelry publications.

Dale’s newest success is her recently published book entitled: Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping.