To Bead, or Not To Bead

Sorry, I couldn't resist!  But that's what I've been thinking about lately: beads.  We have a troubled relationship, beads and I.

On one hand, beads are my first love.  The first pieces of jewelry I actually designed were beaded on a loom at the precocious age of ten.  And I loved beads, the colors, the different sizes, the different finishes.  I loved to put them on a loom, to make big thick bracelets and chokers with herringbone patterns, and later patterns I made up on graph paper.  Simple things with watermelons, or graphed letters, or hearts.

On the other hand, four years of art school warped me for beads in a way, made me feel they were too simple, that looming was one dimensional, that simply stringing them wasn't enough.

I wouldn't trade my experience in art school for anything, but I've missed beads, without being completely aware of it.  They hold the same challenges as gemstones for me- I don't naturally design in them.  I'm talking about beads as elements, the simple mass produced seed beads we all know, and some of us love.

And then there are art beads.  I'm on more familiar ground here, because they are works of craft, tiny pieces of art.  I haven't figured out how to pull them into pieces, yet, but I can't resist the occasional bead.  I have a tiny stash tucked away, waiting for something in my brain to click.

Part of what sparked this train of thought was stumbling across the number of excellent blogs for beaders on the internet.  It reminded me that beads can be just simple elements, but they are a humble means to something greater as well.  I ought to know better, to know that you can transform a piece far beyond it's material, that people make things that take my breath away out of trashbags and piles of garbage.  Under the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, with skill and an eye for design, beads can be made into things that knock me off my feet.

I solemnly swear to do better.  To consider beads as components in pieces and not dismiss them out of hand.

To make beads themselves, in fact.  It was the Bead Dreams 2010 competition that I listed here that demanded I step up to the plate.  There was a handmade bead category.  So I faced off against my doubts, armed with my chasing tools, torch, solder, and sheets of copper and silver.  I'll show you my results some time in the next week or so!  (I'm pretty excited- they're nearly done!)