One of Sharon Chandler’s unique beaded necklaces made of clay, pearl, and quartz. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Sitting at a table heaped with glittering beaded necklaces and deliciously nubby felted bracelets, Bromfield teacher and artist Sharon Chandler bubbled over with enthusiasm for the jewelry show she’s having this weekend as part of the seventh annual Lowell Open Studios event Saturday and Sunday, September 29 and 30, from noon to 5 p.m. each day. Holding up a butterscotch-colored, three-strand necklace, she lit up when describing how much she enjoys watching a client come to life when the perfect piece comes to rest around her neck. Because each necklace is unique, she said, she enjoys matching each one to its spiritual owner. For Chandler, it’s nothing short of a mission to find the perfect piece to make a beautiful woman even more beautiful.

While she has had commercial success in both retail settings and her own solo exhibits, Chandler is particularly enthusiastic about the exposure her work has received at her studio in Lowell, where regular once-a-month sales have resulted in both commissions and a bigger client base. While she has been making jewelry and felted objects for years, she took the step of renting her own studio space in an old mill building just a year ago. The studio, she said, gives her the luxury of a dedicated creative space that she can close the door on each day. Having that space has fueled her creativity, resulting in an array of work both subtle and show-stopping. Recently, she has begun to work within a strict aesthetic of beading elements representing earth and water, incorporating the use of turquoise, shell, coral, and pearl. A very popular new combination is a necklace made of clay, pearl, and stone, she noted.

Felted bracelets by Sharon Chandler. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Some of Chandler’s work incorporates the glass beads of 2006 Bromfield graduate Andrea Basile, who is skilled in making lampwork beads and was present at the time of the interview. Appropriately enough, Basile was wearing a dramatic and very feminine gold necklace of her own design that used masses of gold jump rings to hold together a floral design of dark orange Lucite and rose quartz beads. When Chandler sold her first necklace at Andrews & Andrews in Concord, owned by sisters Carol Lee Tonge and Pat Cooper of Harvard, many of the beads were Basile’s work, she recalled.

Chandler is also excited about the felted bracelets she just started making out of leftover yarn from any number of knitting projects. “I’ve been obsessed with recycling lately,” she said, and has an intense focus on turning practical objects into something both fun and ornamental. She appears to have succeeded: not touching one is impossible. Combining the soft textures of different felted yarns with metallic thread, each has a unique personality. One bracelet, with a spectacular spray of orange tentacles, resembles a soft orange sea anemone, while another features a rainbow of soft matte color sparked by glitzy blue thread.

The creative environment in the studios has been an unexpected pleasure, and she has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the painters, photographers, weavers, and other artists that populate the studios throughout her building, and the city of Lowell as well. “What Lowell has done for artists is huge,” she said.

For more information on Lowell Open Studios, including a list of studio locations, directions, and a map, visit www.lowellopenstudios.org.