Today is Beadlust's Two-year Anniversary!

Two-year anniversary!

I've read these words on other blogs, but never thought I'd reach that point myself. What a delightful journey it's been! New friends, new inspirations and new challenges... I love it, am blessed by it, and thank everyone who has visited and generously commented on my posts!

How to clelebrate? Why not share a list of my most popular posts? OK... let's go! Of these twenty, the all time most popular post was Glorious, Glorious Green Glass Beads. If these posts are of interest to you, scan through the titles below and click on a couple of appealing ones, or go here to see them all.

June 30, 06
Confessions of a chocolate addict

July 2, 06
Bead embroidery in hand-made book ~ Wedding gift!


July 21, 06
D is for Dad


August 9, 06
What is Truth in Art?

August 15, 06
Yellow

August 30, 06
Totem animals (rabbits)


September 1, 06
Totem animals (tigers)

September 8, 06
Rabbits & bead embroidery

September 20, 06
B is for Beads


October 5, 06
5 wierd things about me

November 5, 06
Memory dolls - All about Dad


January 17, 07
Glorious, glorious green glass beads!

March 10, 07
Have you ever seen a bead quilt?

June 3, 07
Finger weaving - New work & tips

July 8, 07
Bead Journal Project ~ my June page

September 15, 07
Ripping out

October 9, 07
Beading for change ~ BJP August's page

November 14, 07
Improvisational bead embroidery ~ October BJP

February 1, 08
Bead embroidery ~ January BJP finished

April 2, 08
Symbols revealed

Writing this post brings back a lot of memories for me. Blogging and all of you, dear cyber friends, are a blessing. Thank you for being here with me!

Symbols Revealed

If you haven't already read this post, you may want to do that first so you can draw and rank these symbols before I reveal the meaning. Otherwise, read on...

CIRCLE
The circle represents wholeness and completion.

CROSS
The cross represents relationships. In addition to relationships with other people, it may also represent relationships with animals, your work, your concept of a higher power, nature, etc.

SPIRAL
The spiral represents change and growth.

SQUARE
The square represents stability and security.

TRIANGLE
The triangle represents goals, dreams and ideals.

RANKING THE SYMBOLS
The rank you gave each of these shapes speaks to the importance and significance of the symbolic reference in your life at this time. As you will see, it’s not exactly what you might guess.

#1
The number 1-ranked attribute is your most conscious area of concern at this time in your life. It is the area to which you are paying full attention. Your awareness of this area is expansive and uncluttered.

#2
You are also consciously working, or you worked in the past, on this area. The work you are doing or have done in this area is related to and directly supports the work you need/want to do in your number 1-ranked area.

#3
The number 3-ranked attribute is the core of your unconscious attention. You are very absorbed in this area, but your efforts here are largely unconscious. Look for this area in your dreams.

#4
The number 4-ranked area supports the work of your unconscious attention (your number 3-ranked attribute). It may involve past challenges and tests or current issues. In either case, this area motivates and supports your current unconscious process.

#5
There are two interpretations for the number 5-ranked attribute. Either it is the area that interests you the least (possibly because it doesn’t apply to your life or you’ve already dealt with it) or it is something you are avoiding because you don’t want to deal with it. Examine your position regarding this area by asking “Is there something I might be afraid of here?”

PAINTING
As I mentioned in the previous post, my counselor used this exercise to open my awareness of what is important to me and how I might be dealing with the concerns I was facing at the time. It helped. It moved the therapeutic process along nicely.

She also suggested that I “play” with the concepts on my own time. So one day I made a bunch of paintings. I just tucked the shapes in the back of my mind and painted improvisationally. Below is one of the paintings I did that day.


It’s quite interesting to me that the triangle, although I ranked it third, appears frequently and in several forms in this painting. Along the top and bottom, the triangle encloses circles and spirals, my two areas of conscious attention. In addition the triangle appears… upside down!... in almost every one of my Bead Journal Project pieces. I need to give this some thought… Why would my subconscious attention to goals and dreams be upside down? I don’t know the answer. I sure hope my unconscious is working on it.


In my June BJP piece, I used all 5 symbols. I made the "patchwork" square first. It reminded me of the symbols, so I decided to add them all. The "string" connecting them was an improvisational addition. I like seeing them connected, as in all aspects of my life, each of them important at one time or another. Made me appreciate the square more, which was my #5 ranked shape.

Bead embroidery ~ bead journal project ~ January finished

I'm excited to show you this piece! It's an abstract portrait. About 15 years ago, I beaded several abstract portraits of people who are very dear to me. It was fun to try it again for my Bead Journal Project piece for January. Here it is...


I'm very curious about what might be evident about the subject of this portrait to the viewers of my work. Will you help me out by giving me your impressions?

First of all, is this a male or female? Secondly, is the person a child, young adult or older adult? And, finally, what does the portrait suggest about the character of this person to you?

Please give me your best guesses and don't be concerned about right answers, as all answers will have true relevance. For example, even the eldest among us still has an inner child... and even the most feminine person has masculine elements to her personality. By the way, the image is clickable... click on the picture to see more detail in a slightly larger version.

I will reveal everything about the subject of this portrait in a few days. Thanks soooo much!

Improvisational bead embroidery - October Bead Journal Project

One picturesque sea-side town (with more neat little shops, galleries and eateries than just about anywhere) is La Conner, WA! Plus, they have a fabulous Quilt Museum! On September 29th, a couple of my quilt-sisters and I went there to see the annual Quilt Festival shows. WOW! Especially awesome was the exhibit of "Blue Ribbon Winners" from around the country, with only quilts that had won numerous awards in shows... the best of the best. And they were!

Besides that, there were vendors... which brings me to my October BJP page... Until then I didn't have a clue what to do for October. But in one vendor's stall, I spied some lovely, carved-bone buttons and pendants. Picking up a goddess figure pendant and a heart, I said quietly to myself, "I love my body."

This, of course, has never been true. I've always struggled (rather lamely) with my weight, plus I have naturally heavy legs. I've hated my body for as long as I can remember.

In July, Angela Plager was working on Threshold (her July BJP piece) and making a determination to change some of her habits... making a commitment to exercise and healthy eating. Both her beadwork and her commitment resonated with me in a huge way. We had some email correspondence, and I decided to join her from a distance.

As of August 1st, I've given up eating sugar in the form of pastries and deserts. I still eat fruit and occasionally sweetened sauces, but no other sweets. Also I've started to walk every day. I live at the top of a 500 ft. ridge. Nearly every day since August 1, I've walked up and down that hill. On the second day of walking, I found a feather, thought about setting my body free from its extra load, and saved it. This isn't about loosing weight, although I have lost 10 pounds... It's about RESPECT... respect and love for the body that was dealt to me by the hands of birth. Thank you, Angela, for this amazing wisdom!

Back to October's BJP... So, I'm at this Quilt Show, I buy the goddess and heart pendants, and another vendor gives me a little sample of batik fabric. Immediately I know that I will use the pendants, the feather and the fabric sample for my October piece, which will be a respectful tribute to my body. At the top of the post, you can see the key components. Below is my finished October page.


Below is a close up picture of the bottom of the piece. See the three dark pieces surrounded by beaded bezels? They are ancient, fossilized, pieces of turtle shell, given to me by a friend who found them excavating a river-bed in Florida. I don't know why I used them or what is their relevance to this piece, but I love that they are here!



Here is the poem I wrote while working on this piece. I was teaching a 2-day improv. bead embroidery class, and always write poems on the second day with my students:

I am celebrating my body today!
My bones, the feeling of age –
memory aids and breath mints –
rulers and good light –
earthy colors, spiral, curve of a feather –
all of these (and more)
are celebrating my body right now!
Even constant and irritating fan noise,
snippets of thread and technical difficulties
contribute in some way
to joyful celebration and respect
for the goddess within my body.

* * * * * *
My one and only husband, Robert, besides being the man of my dreams for the past 10 years, is also quite an exceptional photographer. He's been snapping pictures since he was a child, getting better and better with the wisdom of age and the practice of gazillions of photos. Initially, he worked in black and white, always doing his own darkroom work. Now, with his digital cameras and Photoshop CS3, he's a big color fan.

Here are two of his recent photos to tempt you to take a look at his NEW blog, started just a week ago... no words... just lots of eye candy!



* * * * * * *
Out of the blue a few weeks ago I got an email from Tatiana, a young and passionate beadworker from Russia. She said she was starting a new website, Magic Beads, and wanted to interview me for an article. Yup, I said, sure I'll answer your questions. Well, what a pleasure it was to see the interview (here) and read the English translations of the interviews she did with other well-known bead artists. I'm sending her a copy of One Bead at a Time... maybe if we do a BJP next year, she will join us!

Beading for Change ~ BJP August's Page

Does anyone else out there have a bothersome mindset about money? Does it ring any bells when you read the following list?

1. Always look for the cheapest thing on the menu; while husband thinks nothing of having a steak.


2. Worry about not having enough money, or about running out of money.


3. Buyer's remorse after a bead or fabric shopping trip.


4. Get in a twit when the Dow drops 10 points.


5. Get in a huge twit when the Dow drops two days in a row.


6. Put off getting new glasses because they're so expensive.


7. Stay in the cheapest motels when traveling.


8. Not give money to those in need.


9. False self-talk about money.

Money issues. Yup, I got em... Years ago, writing poetry and doing improvisational bead embroidery, I lessened the grip of money issues quite a lot. But in recent years, as I've approached seniorhood, the worry has started to creep back into my life.

My wonderful husband doesn't seem to be afflicted in this way. He's always telling me, "Go ahead... it's only money!" When I worked on this issue 10 years ago, I backed my bead embroidery with a $5 bill. I made a book with it, and used it to list my "money commandments" (such as "Thou shalt worry about having enough money" and the two shown below). Here are a couple of pictures of this project.






Ever since then, I've thought that I should have used a $100 bill! So this time I did. Below is my August BJP page.



I was so nervous when I tore the bill at the start, but as the piece progressed, I started to feel pretty smug about it. Yes, it IS only money, after all.
Reactions have been very interesting:

• Do you realize how many beads you could buy for $100?


• I couldn't do that!


• That's not really real... You made a copy of a $100 bill!


• If you ever need it, you can take it off, tape it back together, and use it.

My response is:

• How much do you think it would cost to go to a therapist and deal with my money issues?


• How much do you think my inner sense of well-being is worth?

Time will tell how well this bead therapy has worked for me, but already I've made some changes that make me feel much better.


The tiger is one of my two totem animals. He is here because I need his power and strength to put money worry behind me.

Ripping Out...

Years ago, when I first started doing bead embroidery, a good beading friend suggested, "Why not make a rule that we'll never rip anything out!" And so we did... for years, neither of us ripped.

I learned something from those years. At one or more times during the process of making each piece, I've hated it and wanted to rip. But when I just keep working, adding beads I love, eventually, I come to peace with it. In the end I've been happy with all of my work, even the pieces that have parts I hated during the process.

Here are two types of beaders at opposite ends of a continuum..

Beader #1 draws and carefully plans each piece, taking time to really think about it before she begins. She shops as needed to make sure she has just the right beads. She has high standards, and will rip out anything that doesn’t meet her vision. She wants to get it right, and sometimes completely abandons a piece, starting over with a fresh idea, when her work doesn’t meet her expectations. Beader #1 makes some amazingly beautiful pieces, some OK pieces, and some that are not so good. Her work gives her and others pleasure.

Beader #2 picks up some materials she had on hand, and with a hint of an idea, she gets right to work. She forges ahead no matter what, rarely ripping anything out, even though sometimes she’s not sure where her piece is going or if she likes it. She works rather quickly, and her friends admire how much she accomplishes. Beader #2 makes some amazingly beautiful pieces, some OK pieces, and some that are not so good. Her work gives her and others pleasure.

What do you think?

Bead Journal Project ~ My June Page

I deliberated for a long time about showing this, and finally decided to go ahead. The subject of my June journal page is quite personal... I'm turning 65 in September and find that I'm in denial about it.

A few of my goals for the BJP are: to play with layers, to not cover the entire surface with beads, to experiment with using text, and to use a visual journaling approach (whatever that means). So June began with sewing a scrap of fabric left over from making a spirit doll to another piece of fabric. Next I wrote in permanent black ink on the red fabric. Here's was it says:

I am facing a wall of denial.
I don't want to accept my age.
I don't want to be a senior citizen.
Youth and youthfulness ~ I can't go back.
The clock keeps ticking.
It's a wall.

I guess that's journaling, eh? Here's a detail that shows the writing. I thought it was quite brave to write on my piece and allow it to show!

After writing and before beading it, I expected the piece to be either full of rage or dark and gloomy. No such thing happened, as you can see. Almost all of my work on it was done in my Mom's assisted living place in MN. She commented that just past the "wall," there seems to be a great profusion of fun and beauty (the flowers). I don't really trust it will be like that yet, but working on the piece seems to have set me at ease a bit. It seems to be "saying" that it is all just a journey, and that 65 is simply a marker along the way.


Here's a picture of the back. I'm showing this because of the "finishing" discussion on the BJP blog. As you can see, I use paper (acid-free interleaving paper) as a stabilizer for my work, to keep it from puckering. When I finish the beading, I tear away the edges of the paper and fold the fabric edges to the back, tacking them in place with small stitches. Then, for this piece, I beaded a picot edge stitch around the outer edge.

Eventually, I may paint, embellish, and write on a water color paper postcard (4"x6") to glue on the back of the piece using PVA bookbinder's glue. Before I do that, I need to decide what I'm going to do with my 12 journal pages, and if I want to attach them to each other or some other thing. If that's the case, I might want to sandwich some attachment device between the beaded piece and the postcard.

Right now, I should be preparing to teach at the Puget Sound Bead Festival next week, but all I really want to do is to work on my July piece. It's nearly finished already! By the way, short notice... but I still have openings in all four of my classes. Also, becuase a couple of you have asked... yes, I will have autographed copies of my books for sale at the "Meet the Teachers" event and in my classroom.

Finger Weaving - New Work & Tips

Recent Finger Weaving Projects

I feel like I've been on another planet for about a month. Almost all my attention was devoted to the Bead Journal Project. But for one weekend, I took a happy break and went to a bead retreat with some beading buddies! There I worked on (and finished!) some new finger weaving projects.

The reason why the tassel on the right looks a little like a jelly fish, is because the top lampwork bead reminded me of a jelly fish from the moment I saw it. I think the maker, Jenny Friske-Baer (of Portland, OR), intended these beads to be flowers. They'd be lovely that way too.


Here's a closer look at the top of the tassel.

I had quite a lot of beads left over from the tassel, so next I used the finger weaving technique to make a multiple strand bracelet. The weaving is used at the ends to make the loop and clasp.


After that, I went to work on a necklace using some beads made by Alicia Kawano Oh, a lovely creator of raku-fired ceramic beads. I met Alicia while teaching in Honolulu years ago. Here's a picture showing the results!

You Can Learn Finger Weaving

Finger weaving is actually easy to learn, yet it has endless possibilities for design, depending on the cord and beads used. I've been doing it for about 15 years, and a year ago published a book with step-by-step instructions and design variations.

I also teach this technique, because I know it's always great fun to work directly with a teacher. Although I'm winding down my teaching career, you still have 2 opportunities to learn this fabulous method for making bracelets, necklaces, tassels and straps in a workshop environment. Both are comming right up:

Chicago, IL ~ June 26 and 27
Woven Treasure Necklace ~ two day workshop
North Suburban Needle Arts Guild
contact: Rhonda Newman ~ 847-564-4357

Tacoma, WA ~ July 15
Woven Treasure Bracelet ~ one day workshop
Puget Sound Bead Festival

My Chicago class is very small, so if you can do it, you're guaranteed lots of individual attention. Because it's a 2-day workshop, you'll learn many advanced techniques.

The Puget Sound Bead Festival in Tacoma is a fabulous event with great classes and great vendors. Smaller and more personal that the Bead & Button Show, it offers many perks for students. My finger weaving class there is filling, but still had openings the last I heard.

About Beading Cord for Finger Weaving

For almost all of my finger woven pieces, I use #18 bonded nylon cord, although linen and other materials are OK too. A person who has my book, Beaded Treasures, wrote to me recently to ask about C-Lon. Here's what I've learned so far.


There seem to be a good many put-ups for #18 nylon cord! (See picture above.) Sold in bead shops for macrame, this cord is also good for stringing and for finger weaving.

The spool on the left (A) is manufactured by Mastex and distributed to bead shops under the trade name of BeadSmith. This is what I've been using for finger weaving for 15 years. It's also what I sell on my website (here). Mastex used to put-up their cord on large spools (D), and a few suppliers still have stock of Mastex cord in this form.

I don't know who manufactures the larger of the two purple spools (B). It's slightly heavier than Mastex cord. It works OK and comes in this beautiful, rich purple color, which Mastex doesn't make. So I use (and sell) it too.

The other two spools (C and E) are now being offered by many bead shops. I've seen them referred to as either S-Lon and C-Lon, which is confusing. I don't know who is the actual manufacturer of this cord. Whoever it is also manufactures a much lighter weight cord, used for beadweaving and bead embroidery (similar to Nymo D). If you decide to try this cord for finger weaving, be sure you are getting the heavier weight!

One advantage of these smaller spools (C-Lon or S-Lon) is that they come in many luscious colors, and are sometimes packaged as sets with 3 to 12 colors/set. Because the put-up is smaller than Mastex cord (A and D), it's less expensive and you're not buying more than you need. It is very similar in all other respects to Mastex.

The disadvantage of these smaller spools is that the cord is stiff and holds the curls from being wound on a relatively small diameter spool. This makes it tangle when you're working with it.

Tip for Getting Rid of Tangles

Iron the cord! Measure off what you need. Heat up your iron to medium heat. Lay the cord over the ironing board and put the iron down on top of it. Leaving the iron in place, pull the cord slowly, ironing the entire length. It just straightens it right out... no more tangles!

Have You Ever Seen a Bead Quilt?

Group bead quilts, made as memory pieces or fundraisers, are a fascinating development in current beading trends. This post takes a look at some of my favorites, including “A Bear of a Different Color” made as a fundraiser by the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society of Alaska.


The idea of combining quilt blocks and beadwork may have been the original brain child of Andrea Adams of Washington state.

Grieving our national tragedy of 9-11, 2001, Andrea needed to express her feelings with her beads. Reading various bead lists and forums, she noticed many others with the same need and posted her budding idea as follows: "I would like to do something with my beadwork, as that's how I process my emotions. Maybe a large beaded quilt, with "squares" from many different beadworkers? I don't know, I haven't really thought it through ... but the idea came to me, and I'm wondering if anyone else would have interest in some sort of project like this...? As I said before, I believe that creating beadwork can be a healing process, and I like to think that the results of that creative energy can have some healing effects as well."

Quickly beaders around the country (and in several foreign countries) took up their needles and beads to create 3 x 3 inch squares. As the squares started pouring in, so did the volunteer offers of help. A team of 27 women formed to coordinate this project, the first and largest of its kind, before or since. By email and telephone, they spread the invitation to make squares, gathered finished squares, organized work parties to assemble the quilt panels, photographed the squares, developed a website, and sought exhibition opportunities and permanent homes for the three finished quilts. I am so awed by what they accomplished and the enormity of the gift given to a grieving nation by so many compassionate beaders.


There are 573 squares pictured on the official Bead Quilt website. Some are bead embroidery; some are woven; all are amazing. It’s worth the time to go through all 24 pages of squares; click on any that especially appeal to you to see an enlarged image. The ages of the participants range from 8 - 80. Skill level ranges from "famous" teachers and authors to folks who chose this as their very 1st beading project. My square is the one with the missing towers, shown above. Also I volunteered with the Seattle group (below) to assemble the blocks from our region.


While our emotions were still very raw, in less than 7 months following the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the completed project was exhibited at the Bead Museum in Arizona. Here you can see pictures of the finished quilt panels on exhibition. The image below shows the incredible scope of the project. It is my hope that some day, Andrea and/or other members of the Quilt Team will write a book, or perhaps produce a documentary movie, about this project.


The next bead quilt that I’m aware of was created by the Mat-Su Valley Bead Society in Palmer, Alaska as a gift to the local college for permitting the group to meet there free-of-charge. The designer/finisher is Cheryl Lacy. See the finished quilt, called “Spirit Mask,” below:


Cheryl’s idea (inspired by an article she saw in a quilting magazine) was to create a line drawing, divide the design into blocks, each of which would have a small portion of the design on it, and pass them out to members of the group to bead. The only rule was that the lines must be beaded with black seed beads. None of the beaders knew what the final design would be. Below is a square by Jeanette Shanigan; can you find it on the finished quilt?


“Spirit Mask,” finished in 2004, was so much fun and so well received, that the group decided to make another quilt the next year as a fundraiser. So Cheryl set about to design a second group bead quilt. Using the same process as above, she designed a bear, which she divided into twelve blocks, each 3 inches square. Here it is again, “A Bear of a Different Color!”


This is the one that sucked me in, pulled at my heartstrings, and said, “You’ve GOT to write about this!” Apparently others felt the same way, because after it’s completion, Cheryl and Jeanette developed a power-point presentation about how to make a group quilt of this type. You can read about it here.

One group that found their tutorial helpful was the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild (GLBG). Five years ago, they lost a long-time, much-loved member, Barb Davis, to breast cancer. They decided to honor Barb’s memory by making a group bead quilt using Cheryl’s process. Liz Thompson (initial idea), Pat Wiley (Program Committee Chair and overseer of the project) and Yvanne Ham (designer) energized the group, dividing Yvanne's image of a flying heart into 84 blocks! The resulting memory quilt, shown below, was completed and displayed this year.


If you go to the GLBG site, here, you can see individual pictures of 66 of the finished blocks. To tempt you, below are a couple of my favorites:





Can you imagine how wonderful it must feel to have the energy of a whole group united and directed toward connection and memory? What a powerful experience it must have been, one that lives on every time the quilt is viewed!

Along the lines of the "Barb Davis Memory Quilt", Jeanette Shanigan (who was also involved in the Bear and Spirit Mask quilts), has combined the ideas of memory, fund raising, and group energy directed toward a cause. Using 1.5 inch beaded squares, each with a butterfly theme, made by volunteers from everywhere (including foreign countries), Jeanette has sewn blocks together, making 5 (so far) quilts which will be auctioned at the Bead & Button Show this year. The money will go to breast cancer research in honor of Jeanette’s mother, who did not survive the disease. I’ve written about this project here. You can see all the individual squares so far here, and the finished quilts here. Below are three blocks made by me (center) and two of my quilting “sisters,” Christy (left) and Lunnette (right).


Sabine, who lives in Bremen, Germany and who frequently comments on my blog, also "got the bug." She sent "Spark" (her butterfly square, shown below) to me so I could see it before sending it to Jeanette along with the three above. It touches my heart that our butterflies will be together in the same bead quilt!


For the last example in this post, I’m returning to Palmer, Alaska, where once again, Cheryl Lacy took on yet another beaded quilt, which incidentally, she calls “Mystery Quilts.” That’s because the beaders don’t know what it will be. This time however, rather than making squares, each participant beaded an eye-shaped piece. Cheryl then designed and made a fabric quilt, and appliquéd each of the pieces on it. Voila! The eye or leaf shaped pieces became feathers. “Birds of a Feather,” shown below, won a ribbon at the Alaska State Fair this year!


I find this one particularly compelling because it is more of a “traditional” quilt, but still has a strong element of beadwork. Besides, it just makes me happy to look at it!

****

If you know any folks who participated in making these quilts, please pass along my compliments and total respect for their huge accomplishments. Please also give them the link to this post, so they can take a look at my brief story about bead quilts. If you know of one I’ve overlooked, please write to tell me about it. Also, if anyone knows how to reach Andrea Adams, please tell me.. the old email address I have for her doesn't work anymore.