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Handmade beads are some of the oldest objects made by the human race. They are also, for many of us, the first things we ever made of clay. For those who make the decision to return to making clay beads later in life, it is often difficult for us to get past our memories of clay beads as "blobs of clay with a toothpick shoved through to make a hole." 

This tutorial, while not comprehensive by any stretch of the imagination, is intended to illustrate some of the most common shapes of beads throughout history and to offer suggestions on how they might be made in clay.  As a ceramic artist, my focus is on earthen clays which are fired in a kiln rather than the newer, polymer clays which are cured in an oven. These instructions may be used for either type of clay but those working in earthen clay will need to remember to keep their clay moist by wrapping it in plastic, spritzing it with water, or covering it with a damp cloth until their work is complete. Further instructions for working in earthen clays may be found elsewhere on this site. Please visit http://www.mysticspiral.com/tips.html to find other tutorials and lessons.

The individual bead artist should always feel free to experiment with proportions and with other methods of forming and decorating. It is through these experiments that we each develop our own style.

To make a large number of beads which are the same size, roll a coil of clay to a uniform thickness and divide into equal segments. (I press the tines of an inexpensive plastic comb into the coil to leave evenly spaced marks which can be counted off to do this but you may have another tool available which will do the job even better.) This method will give you as many pieces of clay as you need that are all roughly the same size. Roll these pieces to form your beads as desired. When making matched pairs of beads, I generally make 20 or more of the same style and then choose pairs after firing so that I can match them as closely as possible in light of the natural variations which result from hand-forming.

Once the bead is shaped roughly as you wish it, pierce the hole and then refine the shape. To pierce the hole, push a thin rod through the clay bead in a twisting or drilling motion until it just breaks the surface of the opposite side. Remove the rod and re-insert it from the other side to complete the hole. It is a good idea to pierce the hole before you invest too much time and energy into refining the shape as piercing can often distort the bead. Alternate refining the shape with clearing the hole as it is easy to close off the bead hole while you work on the shape of the bead. When your bead is finished, gently flare the ends of the bead hole by pushing a tapered point like the end of a sharpened pencil into the hole. A tapered hole is less likely to cut your stringing material than the sharp edge which might result from a non-tapered bead hole. 

The most common bead shape, by far, is the sphere(1). A sphere is also the simplest bead to make. Roll a ball of clay between your hands, smooth it by rolling gently on your work surface, and pierce the hole. A sphere can be decorated in any way that you desire but the two variations below are some of the easiest and most common. 

The first variation on a basic sphere is a melon bead(2), which is characterized by the segmentation. Begin with a sphere and divide the bead into sections by pressing a straight edged tool into the bead. I have found it helpful to rock the tool from top to bottom. The edge of a fettling knife or a straight edged wooden throwing tool work beautifully for this task. Variations on the melon bead may be made by varying the tool used to divide it into segments. The edge of a serrated rib will create a zigzag effect, the blades of decorative edged scissors will open up a whole range of other possibilities. Another easy variation is to divide the segments at an angle around the bead rather than straight up and down parallel to the bead hole. 

The second variation on the common spherical bead is the dot bead(3). Polka dots can be impressed on your beads using a variety of round tools. Pieces of metal tubing with different diameters work beautifully for this, as do pen barrels, etc. Eye beads, which were often made as talismans against the evil eye, may be made by placing a small dot within a larger one. Experiment with different patterns of placement of the dots around the bead for interesting effect.

Rondell beads(4) make wonderful spacers in jewelry designs. A rondell is a flattened ball or sphere with the hole pierced in the center of the flat side. Rondells are usually considerably greater in diameter than they are in length. With a little practice, these can be made very quickly.

Drum beads(5) are made much like rondells, by flattening a sphere on both ends. When making a drum, you will often want the length of the bead to be close to its diameter. Large drum beads can be used as focal beads or you can make a graduated set.

Another bead made by flattening a sphere is the lentil bead(6). With a hole running from edge to edge through the center, these flat round beads have a large surface area which makes them perfect for decorating and using as a focal. They are ideally suited for bracelets as well. Begin by forming and gently flattening a ball of clay. Care and practice are required to keep the round shape from distorting as you refine the cross section of the bead.

Alternate refining the shape by gently rolling the flat sides of your bead on your work surface to smooth them and re-piercing your bead hole. Care should be taken as you pierce your lentil beads as the hole may severely distort the edge of your bead. You can sharpen the profile of the lentil by holding it at an angle to your work surface and rolling the bead like a pizza cutter or a wheel. The shape can be further refined by smoothing with your fingers, a sponge, or a soft, flexible rubber rib.

Another flattened sphere bead is the donut bead(7). These are shaped like large rondells but are made more like a lentil bead with a large hole in the center. The center hole can be cut with tubing of various diameters like that used to impress dots on the dot beads. 

Tab bead(8) actually refers to any flattened bead. Many are shaped like a tablet or pill. The illustration at right shows a rectangular tab. The edges can be more or less crisp depending on the preferences of the bead maker. The large surface area of a tab bead makes it a perfect candidate for impressed or painted decoration. These beads are also great for multi-holed designs. Begin by deciding what shape you'd like the finished bead to have. Create the shape carefully by rolling and/or pinching until you are happy with the silhouette. The rough bead should be at least 3 times as thick as the diameter of your bead hole. Pierce the hole(s) in the rough bead. Finish by gently pressing the bead between two smooth surfaces so that you have a smooth front and back. Re-pierce the hole in your bead after flattening as it may have been lost or obstructed when it was being pressed.   

After spheres, oval beads(9) are probably the most common. They should be shaped by rolling between the hands and refining by rolling on a smooth surface or between the fingers. They can be further refined by polishing with a tool like a soft rubber rib. Bands may be added to an oval bead by rolling them across a straight edge while supporting the bead on a bamboo skewer or other mandrel. Interesting variations on melon beads and dot beads can be made using an oval bead as the base instead of a sphere. 

Another variation on an oval bead is the barrel bead(10). Barrel beads are shaped much like the drum bead with flat ends, however, barrel beads are generally longer in length than the diameter of the bead. After flattening each end of an oval bead against your work surface, refine and smooth the sides of the bead by rolling it between your fingers.  

Bicone beads(11) are the last shape covered in this tutorial. This classic shape requires some practice to hand-form but is well worth the time and energy once you've perfected the technique. Begin by rolling a sphere or oval bead. To produce the classic beveled profile of the bicone, you will need to roll the bead gently between two parallel surfaces.(12) (see the bottom image at right)  To accomplish this, I generally use a piece of clear plastic (the cover of a broken CD jewel case works well for this) so that I can see the bead as it is shaped. With the plastic held parallel with the work surface, I draw circles with my hand, slowly and gently, rolling the bead carefully so that it is always in contact with both the work surface and my plastic cd case.