This necklace was made by Elizabeth Johnson and
features her handmade glass berries. It includes seven green and red gooseberry beads in varying
degrees of ripeness, handmade glass leaves and handmade melon beads. For
strength the necklace is constructed on 49-strand beading wire, double-crimped and
finished with sterling silver findings. The overall length is 17 inches.
Like real gooseberries, each of these glass gooseberries is translucent with delicate white veins running over its surface from the stem to the dried flower at the tip, and you can see the seeds inside. The edges of the glass dried flower at the end of each gooseberry have been rounded so they will not snag on
clothing. These beads are hand-formed in the flame of a torch from colored glass and copper. No paint is used so the color will not rub, flake or chip off, and no two gooseberries are exactly alike.
This necklace is currently available at Kittrell-Riffkind Gallery in Dallas, Texas.
To clean this jewelry, wet your hands and lather them with a little liquid hand
soap. Use your fingers to distribute the suds over the beads, then rinse
very thoroughly to remove all soap traces from inside the beadholes. Pat dry on a clean terrycloth towel.
Image by Elizabeth Johnson, April, 2014
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Elizabeth Johnson Art Glass, LLC 
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