Monday, May 14th, I will be giving a presentation at the Bedford, NH Public Library from 7:30-9:00 pm. Fiber artist Laura Morrison and I have been invited by the Bedford Craft Guild to talk about our work. (There will also be an exhibit of our work during the month of May.) We'll be speaking especially about the idea of transitioning from craft to "fine art." For me, that transition revolves around ideas. Most crafters follow patterns, or create versions of projects learned in a class or in a magazine. Becoming an artist requires formulating one's own ideas. Sometimes an idea can begin with something seen in a magazine, in a window or on someone's person (for clothes, jewelry, etc.) If one can fundamentally transform the existing item, something new is created. Ideas come from myriad places. The natural world inspires artists in infinite ways. The colors of a rainbow, a sunset, an ocean lagoon can all fire an artist's imagination. The shape of shells, acorns, trees, or antlers can be the start of a design. So can textures, think fur, bristles, porcupine quills, and patterns, like zebras, tigers, turtles, etc. Math can be a source of inspiration as well in patterns, pyramids, and more. Ideas can have specific sources when creating for a themed exhibit. They can build on previous ideas (one of a series, for instance). Ideas are elusive and everywhere. They can arrive fully formed, or grow and change with examination and work. They can come in the middle of the night, which is why some people sleep with a journal beside their beds ready for entries upon waking. I often get ideas while out jogging or walking. I spend time in contemplation, but then my brain needs to work behind the scenes pulling various things together, taking them apart until a new idea arrives. Last week I talked about beading alone and having accompanying diversion, but that alone time can be a critically important component of formulating ideas. How do you arrive at your ideas? If you are local, please come to Bedford May 14th. The discussion is open to the public and there will be light refreshments.
Beading is a wonderfully portable art. Lighting, a chair, a flat surface, beads, thread, a needle, it can be done in all sorts of places. I have beaded in cars, airplanes, trains, at my sons' sporting events, at my book club meetings, at PTO meetings, in front of the TV, etc. When I am "at work," however, I am most often at a table in my home and I am usually alone. In those situations, I find I rely on some sort of elecronic entertainment to mitigate the sense of loneliness.
Most of the time, I have my radio tuned to NPR and I listen to the news and talk of the day. Sometimes the topic is not interesting to me, or I am unable to listen to the whole program, or I just want something of my own choosing. I do not have an iPod, and I'm not a member of Netflix, but I do watch televison programs or movies online. I listen to podcasts of radio programs like "Radiolab" and "This American Life." My son has turned me on to "Ted" lectures and audio books., too. There is something about engaging that other part of my brain while beading that makes the time pass and actually keeps me more focused since I'm not distrsacted by ambient sounds around me. I read about a bead artist once, who watched the "Lord of the Rings" movies while working. She paid particular attention to the beadwork in the films! If I am feeling a little guilty about watching something silly, I remember another article I read about a pair of bead artists. Since they worked together, there was no need to watch something else, but these women recognized the need to refocus their eyes to alleviate eye strain from close beadwork, so they set a kitchen timer for 10-15 mintues and would alternate getting up and walking across the room to turn it off, then back on again! With that in mind, watching an episode of "Criminal Minds" is eye therapy as well as another presence in the room.! One thing I love about bead work is that the supplies are pretty basic: at it's most earnest, it's just beads, thread, a needle and scissors. The thread is the foundation of any beaded object. As someone who eschews glue, I know the thread tension is critical and often that means so it the thread type. In my studio I have a red Craftsmen tool chest and one drawer is devoted entirely to threads. There are coated wires and carded silk, fishing line and jute twine, coils of satin cord and spools of embroidery floss. Stiff linen cord sits beside copper wire, leather cord and fancy braided nylon threads in various test weights. At one time or another, in one project or another, I have used nearly all of those items. Far more often, however, I rely on my Nymo thread for most bead stitches and Jeans Stitch for bead crochet.
What thread one uses can be a hotly debated topic and some published bead projects will dictate thread brands. I have tried the braided threads and find them frustrating. Not only is it difficult to remove the needle, unweave a section and rethread the needle, I actually had a beaded dragon snap the thread because of the tension, and I used 20 pound test! Many of my beading peers tell me the flaws of Nymo,especially how it frays. I use wax to try and lessen that and concentrate on not piercing my thread while working, but for whatever reason, I find it works best for me. When I've discovered rainbow tubes of colored Nymo, of course I could not resist, and I use them for like-colored projects, but my standby is black where appropriate or white, which I often color by hand with permanent markers. A fellow bead artist turned me on to that trick and it is so useful I asked for a set of markers for my birthday that year. Not only can I color my thread any of the 64 colors in my set, if parts of a piece are predominantly a different color, I can use my markers once the work is completed to touch up places where the thread shows to make it blend better into its surrounding beads. Bead crochet is a unique stitch and the thread choice can make all the difference between something supple and something stiff. Cotton threads tend to wear and weaken and heavier upholstery threads can be too bulky. Polyester Jeans Stitch seems to have the perfect weight and flexibility. When I started bead crochet finding Jeans Stitch could be a search in itself, but over the years the savvy beadstore owners have appreciated its value and I find it stocked regularly at my local store. As the popularity of beading continues to rise, companies will keep creating new threads to meet specialized demands. I'm sure I will be tempted and try them, but if the past is any indication, I will keep my stock of Nymo and Jeans Stitch full as well! Today I picked up two works that were in a recent exhibit. The exhibit was called "Music of Our Hands," and I submitted two necklaces. One was called "Black and Blues." Themed exhibits usually inspire some creative projects. This exhibit was at the League of NH Craftsmen, and ostensibly designed for the handful of artisans who fabricate actual musical instruments, many of which were played by musicians at the opening. At first I imagined tiny beaded violins or guitars, but I quickly dismissed those ideas and opted to interpret the theme more liberally. So I started thinking beyond instruments, staffs, G-clefs and such and contemplated other things connected to music. I thought of rock and roll and the blues and thought there must be a way to translate those ideas into a beaded work. Blues, of course, connected to the color, but I wanted to fashion something that evoked the spirit of blues and rock as well. In my stash, I had a blue glass marble that I've wanted to incorporate into a piece for a long time. I decided to encase it as part of a right-angle weave pendant that I could envision around the neck of a rock musician. Then I hung the pendant on a bead crochet "chain" with curves that were reminiscent of the waves of melody. My piece required more thought to connect it to the theme than the flutes and guitars, but it was fun to interpret the theme using beads and thread.
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