Susan Matych-Hager for a long time specialized in spacer, or designer, beads: relatively small beads used to play a supporting role in service of a large focal, or an accent themselves in pieces made of small manufactured beads (i.e. seed beads or czech fire-polish.) Recently she's been branching out into some absolutely glorious floral pieces but she still sells plenty of her fancy spacers.

2011, 9.5 x 14. effetre coral(?) spacer by Susan Matych-Hager. Acquired late 2011, shot 17mar2012. Olympus e620, 50mm zuiko macro prime

The above is such example. It's not particularly expensive, but I just love the way the background coral color shifts, going from a rich coral to a peachy tint. This was not, the artist told me, something she set out to do, but merely a side effect of the bead's manufacture. Note also how she's taken advantage of another innate property of the glass, the tendency of sulfur to precipitate out of turquoise when next to ivory. This gives her bullseye an extra ring with no added labor on her part, and really, in my opinion, makes the whole design pop.

I happened to trade this bead during a talk she gave our guild on color theory, so I can safely say that the overall design—a near complementary pair (orange and greenish-blue) of various tints (i.e. neither are fully saturated, but instead diluted with white) is no accident.

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