Buy Sara Beames Online

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

Home
Artists and Designers
Sara Beames

About Sara Beames

Sara Beames is an award-winning glass artist based in Kingston, New York, whose work has made it around the world. Inspired by form, function, and color, Beames creates bright works of fused glass Judaica. Her Wedding Breaking Glass Keepsakes are an example of how she combines these three attributes to create decorative pieces that families will cherish. In addition to her Breaking Glass pieces, Beames also handcrafts a full line of ritual objects, including Menorahs, Mezuzahs, Tzedakah Boxes, Yahrtzeit Memorials, Picture Frames, and Jewelry, as well as Presentation Gifts.

As a young girl, Beames was initially drawn to pottery. Later, she received a degree in Art at San Francisco State University, where she discovered the power and potential of glass. Beames worked in commercial art until 1990, when she and her husband opened a studio in Kingston where she could concentrate solely on producing art that spreads joy.

The majority of the Beames collection revolves around ritual objects. She chose this focus because of the meaning that these items and symbols bring to people’s lives. The customs and traditions surrounding holidays and milestones become treasured family memories, and these objects can become heirlooms to be lovingly passed down. Beames aims to join in the celebrations of life that these items represent. It is fulfilling for her when families adopt a piece into their homes, or when a piece is gifted to others for life cycle events, like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

Weddings are especially meaningful to Beames. Her Wedding Breaking Glasses and Keepsakes are a creative way to celebrate engagements, weddings, and anniversaries. The line provides several vivid hand-blown glass options -- rainbow, cobalt blue, gold, silver, turquoise, purple, emerald green, and pink -- for breaking under the chuppah. These glasses come in a box, with a piece of muslin to wrap around the glass, and a blue velvet bag in which to place the glass. Under the Chuppah, the couple smashes the glass and collects the shards to keep as a memento of that special moment.

Keepsakes in this collection come in a variety of Judaica and non-religious items, such as Mezuzahs, Picture Frames, Tzedakah Charity Boxes, Necklaces, and Vases. These items are made from a variety of materials, including Beames’ famed fused glass, mixed metals, and laser-cut maple wood. Each piece comes with a vial that couples can fill together with the shards from their broken glass, creating a personalized work of art. The glowing colors and metallic accents used further individualize these handcrafted treasures.

All of Sara Beames’ art is 100% made in America, and each item comes with a card explaining the process used to make it. Much of the work is done by fusing glass in a fire kiln, with some incorporation of silver leaf and semi-precious stones, like Lapis and Turquoise. Her popular designs include Tree of Life, Dove, Woven, Floral, Stellar, Quasar, Nova, Vortex, The Twelve Tribes, and Celestial.

Due to the handmade nature of her art, every piece she makes is unique, and colors and designs will vary slightly from piece to piece. As Beames says, “there’s a little serendipity in each piece.”