Barbara Becker Simon earned a BS in Art Education and an MFA in Metalwork and Jewelry.

She has been a goldsmith for over 50 years and has taught at such institutions as University of Wisconsin-Menomonie, and Iowa State University.

As well as private instruction in her studio in Southwest Florida, Barbara crisscrosses the United States teaching lampwork and metal clay workshops.  She has taught in six Japanese cities, in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Yorkshire and Cornwall, UK and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Her work appears in many metal clay books such as PMC Decade and  PMC Technic, among other publications. In April 2009, her book, “Metal Clay Beads” was published by Lark Books.

Barbara’s necklace, “Big Links,” won second prize (PMC) for the Saul Bell Design Award 2007.  In 2011, her piece, “Mandala” won first prize in the metal clay category in the same competition.

In addition to metalwork, she has gained a national reputation for her lampworked glass beads and jewelry.  Contemporary Lampworking by Bandhu Dunham features Barbara’s work on the cover. Formed of Fire (Dunham) and, Beads of Glass (Cindy Jenkins) contain examples of her work. 1000 Glass Beads, (Lark) also features photographs of her beads, as do other publications.

Barbara’s glass beads were chosen for the collections of the Bead Museums in Washington, DC and Glendale, AZ, the Kobe Lampwork Glass Museum, Japan and the Corning Museum of Glass, NY.