August BJP Finished

Can you guess the subject of this piece? I guess the title will have to be Me & The Book! Maybe a little "refresher" about how I do bead embroidery is in order...

First, this is a Bead Journal Project piece, meaning (for this year's pieces) it will be about a significant intersection in my life. August was the second month I worked on my new book. "Worked" is an understatement. I slaved on it, working mostly at the computer, nearly every day of the week for 8-14 hours a day. At that time it was both an exciting, challenging opportunity to teach what I know about beads AND a frightening, draining, daunting 7-month commitment. It was a natural choice for my piece... the intersection between me and the book, how our paths cross.

• Fabric choices: just what appealed to me; hot color for a hot month, maybe. Or, perhaps my hunch that the book itself will be HOT!
  
• Bead choices: with the subject tucked in the back of my mind and the fabric already chosen, I went through some boxes of beads and picked out things I like (love).
• The rock: it was in with some smaller pebbles I collected on the beach one time. It appealed to me.

I almost always begin beading in the center. The rock was big, I thought, but I was compelled to put it on this piece right at the point of intersection. The rest of the piece developed quickly and without much thought on my part.

When I'm all finished (or nearly finished)... that's when I begin to analyze the piece, deciding which axis is me, which is the book, thinking about what it means.


In this case, the book (see end of this post) was like a big rock in my life... an anchor, a huge, solid mass requiring my full attention and focus. I am the straight line, surrounding the book, not allowing myself to veer away from working on it. The other line, the book itself, is creative, fun, open, developing. It exists beyond my management of it. The last things I added were the long pieces of coral. I think these may reflect the part of me that is having fun with the book, a guiding muse, perhaps, existing outside of my conscious control.


Here's the whole piece. I made the miniature book on top of the rock a long time ago. I'm going to make another one in the likeness of the new book (once it's cover is designed by the publisher) and exchange it for the one that's on the rock now.

It's interesting to note that this piece was me and the book in August. It would be a different picture now that the book is 2/3 complete. I'm not in such a straight, rigid line about it anymore. Yay!