Creating - A Family Affair with Jayla & Melissa Rediger

Recently I visited my friend Melissa Rediger's blog, particularly this post, and realized not only is Melissa a super-talented glass and jewelry artist, but her daughter has an AMAZING wealth of talent -- and is only 11-years old.

I decided to interview Jayla to learn more about her and to introduce you to this lovely artist. 

Her pendants are on the left and her mom's art beads are on the right, it's easy to see where Jayla learned her sense of color!

L: How old are you, what grade are you in, and what do you want to be when you grow up?

J: I am 11 years old, I am going to be in 6th grade, And I don't for sure know what I am going to be when I grow up, but I will probably do something with beads , but I have a while to think about that.

L: What are your favorite colors to work with?

J: I don't really have favorite colors to work with, but usually I use brighter colors. My first pendant was purple, blue and pink.

L: When did you start selling your work, and where did you make your first sales

J: I think when I was about six, me and my little sister made these little $7 bracelets for little girls. (But my little sister didn't have very many 'cause her attention span was very short and she always got lost in the T.V..) And then when we ( I ) got a little bit older and I started making little wire necklaces for $10. Then when I was about 9 I started making necklaces that were bigger and the wire was flexible and I put little crystals on it for $15. And Mom sold them at her bead shows and open houses.

L: Jayla, what started you on the path to creating?

J: Watching my mom create jewelry, I always wanted to make some beads too, but I was a little afraid of the fire that she uses to make the beads. So I helped with the little things, like if she would buy a strand of beads, she might say to me to go and find a focal bead to mach it, or if she would be making lunch she might ask me to string a few beads and stuff like that.

L: What other creative things are you interested in pursuing?

J: If mom would ever take another class and learn some new techniques or fun projects with beads, I would probably try some of them. Maybe when I am a little older I will probably try making a necklace with one of my pendants.

You can purchase Jayla's work by clicking here.

You can see her mom's work by clicking here.

I think it's fantastic when our kids follow in our footsteps. I know when Zack shows interest in what I do, I'm over the moon, and when he picks up a paintbrush or even a Lego kit, I'm excited because I see the possibilities when his brain starts clicking on things other than TV and video games.

Whether you have children of your own

or can mentor a group at your local school or library

foster the love of craft and art.

Lori Anderson writes the blog Pretty Things and creates jewelry for her web site, Lori Anderson Designs.  She is also the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party.