I am Connie Nabholz and CeeJay CREATIONS is my business. In 2008 I started fulltime in my endeaver, my passion, my joy. I feel blessed to be able to work on my creations and share them with you.

I have had a lifelong appreciation and involvement in the Arts. I started learning and

developing my talents in 1972 at the Pensacola Junior College Art Department. I have taken numerous art classes in everyting from oil painting, pastels, silver art clay, wire sculpting jewelry and bead weaving techniques. In 1998, I realized that my true passion was with the beadwork and gems. All of my Unique-one-of-a-kind-designs are original and draw from my lifelong art background. I am forever fascinated with the colors and finishes of the tiny beads that I use in my pieces, and intrigued with the structure and form that I am able to create with the timeless bead weaving techniques. I taught myself the basic beadweaving stitches from turorials off the internet and have since augmented and enhanced those techniques through books and magazines and taking classes from nationally recognized beadweavers. I use Peyote stitch, brick stitch, Herringbone stitch, African net stitch, Russian leaf stitch, and numerous variations of these stitches as well as creating techniques of my own. These techniques are all off-loom beadweaving techniques. I am forever searching for a new application to a favorite stitch or to learn a new technique.

In 2008, I discovered Kumihimo, which is an ancient Japanese weaving technique which is used to make beautiful woven cords and embellishments with fiber. The beadweavers have taken this technique and added beads and are making beautiful beadwoven chains and other jewelry items. I have made several pieces of jewelry with Kumihimo and am currently exploring its many possibilities.

In all of my pieces, I call myself a purist, I only use beads and thread, I don't back my pieces with fabric and glue or adhesive of any kind is out of the question. My friends know not to even use the g (glue) word around me.

I also incorporate wire work and wire wrapping in my jewelry. I started creating unusual, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces using gems and other earth treasures, wire sculpting them in fine silver, sterling silver and 14K rolled gold wire.

In 2002 I started creating beadwoven sculptural pieces and vessels. I am still amazed that I can achieve 3-D structures with beads and thread working without any kind of an amature. I feel that there is no end to the creativity available to me through these art forms..

In 2002 I began teaching beadwork techniques and wire work . I discovered that I had a great love of teaching also, it is extremely satisfying for me to share my love of the jewelry arts with others.

I currently teach at LH Bead Gallery in downtown Panama City, FL www.lhbeads.com and at William Holland Lapidary School in Young Harris, GA, www.lapidaryschool.org .