Beads have been used by humans for thousands of years to communicate ideas. Four times a year the Midwest Lampworkers Guild comes together for a Bead Bash to make beads that communicate the ideas of strength and courage to children experiencing serious illness.
The Guild collaborates with Children’s Hospital and Beads of Courage, a program that provides arts-in-medicine for children experiencing serious illness. The beads created and donated help children face their daily challenges and difficult treatment days.
The Guild makes several different kinds of beads for the program.
Dream Beads are requested directly from patients and can be anything the child dreams up. Requests have included rockets, hearts, dogs, flowers and more. One child waiting for a heart transplant requested a skunk holding a heart. Another child dreamed of having a Llamacorn (Llamma Unicorn). Each dream bead takes a member of the guild a little over an hour to produce.
Midwest Lampworkers Guild members: Sally Johnson, Michele Michaelsen, Margie Ehlers, Karla Klein, Julie Paul