It's important to be aware of historical and ethnic beadwork, as well as the contemporary beadwork that amateur and professional beaders are doing. Some of these books have a brief look at techniques, but they do NOT give patterns or step-by-step instructions for the work presented. For a terrific look at historic and ethnic beadwork that includes beautiful projects, see Valerie Hector's book The Art of Beadwork, in the "How-To" Section.

Beadwork - A World Guide by Caroline Crabtree & Pam Stallebrass, 208 pps, color
Here is the first world-wide look at beadwork from all over the world. At last, in one place you can see beadwork from the Native American, South African, Asian and European traditions. Most of the text describes the historical and cultural significance of the beadwork which is shown, but there is a chapter which gives an overview of techniques. If you really want to be a creative beadworker, you need to look at historical and ethnic beadwork as well as contemporary beadwork, and this is certainly the book to give you that opportunity.

500 Beaded Objects by Terry Krautwurst, 420 pp of color photos
This book is a stunning overview of contemporary beadwork, both wearable and non-wearable. There is such a variety of techniques and sensibilities represented that everyone will find many things that resonate and inspire. This is an incredible bargain at the price, there's no excuse not to own it.

Beadwork I: Up Close ed. by Jean Campbell, 37 color photos, soft cover, 6" x 7-1/4"
This book catalogs a beadwork exhibit sponsored by Beadwork Magazine, which required that pieces be no larger than 4"x4"x4". There is a color picture of each piece, with a short statement by the artist. It is truly inspiring to see what each artist has done with beads, on such a small scale!

Liza Lou 63 pages, color, soft-cover, 6-3/4" x 7-1/4", essays by Peter Schjeldahl and Marcia Rucker
This is a full-color monograph on Liza Lou's famous beaded environments "Kitchen" and "Back Yard". Both projects are life-size and completely beaded. If you have ever felt over-whelmed by your bead project, just take a look at these!

The Blue Bead by Kate Boyan, 32 pages, color, soft cover, 8 -1/2" x 11"
Kate Boyan is a renowned bead artist from Homer, Alaska. The Blue Bead is the story of how an 18th century Bohemian glass bead found its way into the life of a modern Alaskan bead artist. The simple story comes alive in Boyan's 22 bead embroidery panels, depicted beautifully in color photographs. Boyan worked for years on this series of panels, and their beauty certainly proves that anything worth doing, is worth doing extremely well.