Snippets from a bead artist.

6.27.2012

News-ish


Ah yes!  Thirteen days left until our pieces are due to be sent in for judging by the esteemed Battle of the Beadsmith judges!  Who, me? Panic?  Not at all... much.  I have had such a block lately when it comes to this that it isn't even funny (or at least, not to me) and have scrapped my first choice of project because no MATTER what I did with it, it refused to talk to me.  Which just blew my mind, really, as it has been something I was looking forward to making for almost a year now.  After three weeks of staring at it grimly and two weeks of having it stare back even more grimly, I finally put it aside (after chopping it up and putting it into a pile in a baggie for later reference, or possibly to be thrown at something) and sulked for a few days.  I couldn't think of a thing - not one single lonesome idea came to my head.  At last I decided to make something small and easy, something I had done before successfully, to see if it would help.  I grabbed my gorgeous Beverly Ash Gilbert Golden Raspberry bead soup and... Ah-hah!  At least I was able to feel like I had accomplished a little bit, and it surely felt wonderful to have needle in hand again - I had literally been in tears when I spent five days Notbeading - I am not a happy person, or even much like myself at all, when I'm Notbeading. I must bead like sharks must swim, and am completely at a loss without it.   So now I had Rose, my little fringy and fun bracelet.




After Rose, or actually near the end of Rose, I had another idea - it didn't seem large or grand enough for BoB, but it was still an Idea, and so I set to work on it and tried realllllllly hard not to think about BoB at ALL.  During the time I made Between, I spent a lot of time thinking about my friend, Peter Sewell, who has recently passed away from an aggressive form of cancer.  Peter was a brilliant bead artist, and made the most lovely and architecturally sound pieces of beadwork, and had such an incredible sense of balance in his work.  I think that because of him, this piece came to be - I hardly ever work with straight lines and the kind of symmetry that Between has, and even more amazing, I did not once break a bead while making the peyote bits - I am positive Peter helped with that because I always break a bead while doing peyote stitch in the ditch, so thank you Peter - for your inspiring work, your fabulous sense of humor, and your help and love, everything you were to everyone who loved you back.


Between is named as it is because for me it embodied my dilemma - between wanting to bead and needing to make something for a specific reason - so in my head it is Between Want and Need.  I left it at Between because I hope that the viewer can fill in the blanks with their own version of what it is that's 'between.'  The awesome focal bead is by Amber Ballard of thatbeadgirl, and I highly encourage you to check out her website and her work... I have quite a collection of it, and drool over more of them almost every day.


I also wanted to plant a shameless self-promotion out here, hoping that you will all run right out and buy a copy of this book that features some of my work, and some INSANELY talented bead artists from around the globe - I can't wait to get this, not to see my things in print, but because it is sure to be one of the most inspiring and beautiful books this year.  Lark is also doing a giveaway on the book, where you could possibly grab yourself a signed (by Ray, the editor!) copy and be the very first one to have a copy!  Check out the book on Amazon HERE and if you like what you see, click on Like!


Last but not least, my very good friends David and Jo Tong have been able to open their store front on the web now, and it would be wonderful if you could take a second to stop by there and check it out.  If you do, and want to leave some feedback here on my blog, that would be awesome, as it's a brandy-new set up, and they would love to have some tips on how they could make it better for their customers.  They are also having their Grand Opening sale until June 30th with some products at 50% off and some at 25% off... check out their blog HERE for the discount codes and here's the link to the new store:  New England Beads.  :)

I am hoping, once I finish my BoB piece (cross your fingers for me that I finish in time!!) and my Beading For a Cure piece, that I will be able to work on a tutorial for my Juliet necklace/bracelet/earrings....





40 comments:

  1. Gorgeous work as always. And thank you to Dear Peter. xxxxxxxxxxx

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  2. Between looks like it was inspired by Peter Sewell.

    I have always thought Beverly Ash Gilbert's bead soups were lovely. It is wonderful to see something made with it.

    I will drop by your friend's website.

    Good luck on Bob

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    1. Thank you very much! My friends' will appreciate your visit, too, so thanks for that as well! :)

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  3. Gorgeous! Love the name you chose for your necklace!
    And....I will be thrilled with a tutorial for your Juliet set! It's beautiful!

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  4. Both are gorgeous, as always. I too am in a Notbead place right now, and seem to be there more and more these days. I don't like it one bit, and don't even seem to sleep as well at night when I haven't been creating at my table the day before.
    Good luck with BoB - I am FB friends with several of the participants - and can't wait to see the results - and cheer the winner.
    Sheryl/Cool Moon/shescool on Etsy

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    1. I so hope your Notbeading goes away soon, Sheryl, it's terrible. :( Best wishes, and thank you!

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  5. As soon as you said it was one of Beverly's soups, I hit my head and said 'Of course'. I don't know why I didn't recognize it immediately, but it's probably because her color sense is as stunning as yours. I love the thought process behind the creation of Between, and it's such a riveting piece. Now I'm going to head over and check out the new website. :)

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    1. Beverly's mixes are the BEST!! Thanks for visiting my friends' store, too!!

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  6. Oh I so need one of Beverly's soups! I will have to wait til she re opens her shop though. I love Between. You and I have both been Between lately. Peter would love this!!!!!!

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    1. Thank you so much!! And YES you need one of her soups!! She still has the seed bead mixes, you just have to add your own gems in... ;)

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  7. As always Nancy, they're amazing! And super congrats on the book! <3

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    1. Thank you ,Jin!!! Miss you, Jin!!

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    2. Miss you too... been a rough week... I'll message soon.

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  8. I love the fringe bracelet - it's really lovely. They are such fun to wear, too, with all the movement on your wrist. And your necklace is fabulous!!

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  9. I love the Between Necklace - I'm so glad you made it!

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  10. My watercolor teacher, Ann Schuster of St. Charles, IL, taught that it is best to start to create a painting and then see if it is what you want on your dining room wall rather than to say you are creating a painting for your dining room wall. The pressure of creating the perfect dining room painting kills the creativity.

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    1. That is fabulous!!! I will have to remember that next time I get to feeling that way, it's the perfect thing to think of!

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  11. I love the Between necklace! It's beautiful! Good luck with your BoB project.

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  12. Love that Between too. So unique and modern and sleek. I love everything you do, Nancy, but this one was so different and exciting to me! I also love Beverly's seed bead mixes -- so much. I often go to her site and dream about which ones (notice the plural) I NEED to get. Haven't ordered yet because I don't know if one tube is enough to do anything (do you get more than one of a color?). But I have all summer to think about it now! Good luck w/ your BoB piece. It sounds like a true Battle for you. I wish you smoother sailing from now on!

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    1. Oh you have to get some!! They are soooooooooo much fun, Sally! Thank you for your kind words!

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  13. 'Rose' and 'Between' are both lovely and both showcase what you do so well...either exuberance and freedom, or control and balance. A very fitting tribute to Peter who is very badly missed by the beading community.
    So glad the beads are speaking to you again, good luck with the BoB
    xxxCatherine

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    1. Thanks so much, Catherine! You make every day a smily one for me... hugs!! xxxxxxx

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  14. I'm going through something similar. I have a competition that I want to submit pieces to, and I find myself not wanting to do pieces I'd looked forward to for months.

    For me, it has to do with fear. The fear that whatever I make won't be good enough, unique enough. That I'll fall flat on my face. That might not be the same issue you're having -- your work is incredible -- but fear is at the bottom of a lot of things when we look hard enough!

    The pieces you've made are gorgeous! I know that your BoB piece will be, too. I bet you anything that out of nowhere the perfect idea will come to you, and you'll be beading as fast as your fingers can possibly bead. Until you get to that point, I volunteer as someone you can email when you're feeling stuck.

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    1. Thank you very much. I am so sorry you are having a time like I did... I hope it passes quickly and that you can create what you need to. And yes, fear is part of mine, too... always. Thank you for volunteering! :)

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    2. It's funny... I think it passed last night. I put a new piece together, and it's honestly one of my favorites ever! :)

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    3. That's wonderful!!!!!!!! PICS!!!!!!! :) :) :)

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    4. Here we go!

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/saturdaysequins/7566314044/in/photostream

      I love, love, love your entry for BoB, by the way. It's one of my favorites. :)

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  15. I absolutely adore "Between"! The architecture is beautifully precise and yet the concept is wonderfully open to interpretation. We're all of us in that "betwixt and between" place now and again. I know you'll soon have your beading bearings again. Thanks for sharing all your beautiful beadwork with us!

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  16. Between Want and Need - what a great name! And I got it immediately. The piece has such a wonderful architectural style, reminding me of an gate or archway, also echoing the theme of your piece of passing between.

    And I understand completely how you feel about Notbeading! Often it is more important to simply pick up the needle than to worry about what it is exactly that I'm going to make.

    Lovely work! And congratulations.

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    1. Thanks so much, Karen!! I hope you Arebeading!!! :) :) :)

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  17. Rose bracelet is fantastic for shape and colors and Juliet parure is incredible!!
    It's the first time I visit your blog and I find your creations relly wonderful!!
    Many compliments!
    Greetings
    Betty

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    1. Thank you, Betty! I am so glad you stopped by!

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  18. The necklace and bracelet are just gorgeous!! i love the shape and colors that you use on it!!! Wow ...I really love it!!!

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  19. These are very beautiful necklace,bracelet,earrings and different shape.Designed so that the good of all.They look gorgeous white pearl looks.

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