Missing...

I am proud to announce that my piece, "Missing" survived the first cut in the 2012 Battle of the Beadsmith International Invitational Beading Tournament on facebook, and of the 80 original entries, it is one of the 40 that will continue to round 2 of adjudication.

Back View - I like to close my bezels to prevent wear.

When I set out to create my piece, I thought it would be a representation of my home, Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes.   I imagined a work with many bezeled Bermuda Blue rivolis, representing lakes, and lush greenery swirling around those lakes in elegant twists like naturally occuring fibonacci spirals.  I had looked at many examples of fractals in nature and mathematics, and I had a sketch that gave a rough impression of what I was hoping to accomplish.  I hoped to suggest a waterfall, like Minnehaha Falls near my home, as the focal component.

About half way through my project, my mother passed away.  My parents were both very supportive of my artistry, encouraged me to pursure a degree in theater, (when many might have suggested learning to type) and my mother gave me my love of handcrafts, teaching me to knit, crochet, embroider and sew. For Christmas of my Senior year of High School, they gave me a sewing machine.  It was an astonishingly expensive thing, and competely out of line with what Christmas gifts usually were, but it was also a confirmation of their support for my chosen career, and it meant the world to me.
Suddenly, my work was not about Minnesota any more.  It was about my mother, or more important, the absence of my mother.
The lively, curling greenery idea disappeared.  The beautiful blue components rearranged themselves into a soft circle of life, with a smaller supporting outer ring for me, and a larger inner ring for her, which merged into one single line at the base of the focal, as I realized I am now the family matriarch.  The negative space in the center of the focal created a soft heart impression.  Then the waterfall became a curtain of tears, falling from the circle. 

The blue was just the perfect color.  My mom's kitchen was always blue.  And I associate her with that room.  She loved to cook and bake, and so many photos of her were taken in that room.  She owned a set of beautiful, cobalt blue dishes.  Let me show you!  These were in the kitchen, but I moved them to the dining room while I prepared the house for sale over the the last month, because I thought they were so beautiful in the china cabinet she was so very proud of. For Mom, preparing and sharing food was an act of love!

And here's the kitchen. See the blue gingham curtains she made?  The pale aqua figure on the  backsplash tile she chose?  The adjoining wall has paper with a delicate blue figure on it.

And the dining room chandelier?  Gold, of course.  And there have always been golden yellow accents in the kitchen too.  Mom had beautiful blue eyes as well, but she was legally blind when she began to fall, and the third fracture of her pelvis was just too much to recover from at 89.

I think although it began as something quite different, this is the most personal and deeply felt work I have done as a beader.  I always create with wearability in mind, and have worn each piece I have made at least once.  Initially I din't think this particular piece would get a public wearing.  But I did put it on... and asked The Best Man Ever to take a shot for me.  I also thought I would never sell it, but a time comes to move on through life, and it is now listed in my Etsy shop.

So, there you have it.  A very personal piece, about an empty space in my life.  I tried to make the empty spaces, the negative shapes in the work, (the "missing" bits if you will) speak as loudly as what is there.  I wish I could share it with her.  I think she would approve.

To Make a Masterpiece

     When Steven Weiss of Beadsmith contacted me about participating in a invitational beading tournament, I was proud to be included and agreed.  Being a guy, (I think this is adorable!) he set it up just like the College Basketball Championships.  It's a single elimination event, where originally 64 beaders from around the world (and now 80) meet in random pairings.  The two works of each pair are then judged against each other, by the 78 other participating beaders, as well as a select, invited judging panel, which includes two Minnesota beading legends, Diane Fitzgerald and Jean Campbell.  Winning entries in each pairing advance to a new random pairing, until a champion is finally left standing alone.  But along the way, much quality beadwork is viewed, appreciated, admired, discussed, and serves as inspiration to all.  There will also be a public vote oppotunity, so I hope you'll all help us with that!

I am trying to consider it a festival, more than a championship, because if I thought too much about the competition, I expect I would be left a quivering mass of nerves, unable to hold a needle.  Many of my own personal beady heros are among the invitees.  I invite you to join our merry band and watch the fun on Facebook here.  A full list of competors by country, and the rules are available here.  AND, you can see the first round matchups here.  My own first round pairing is with the amazing Eva Dobos of Hungary. You can check out her wonderful work in her Etsy Shop, or on her blog. She does lushly textural work and uses color beautifully.  She also effectively combines many sizes and shapes of beads in her work. 

I have very limited beading time.  I work full time making costumes for competitive ballroom dancers by day, an activity that combines dressmaking and beading, but done with glue instead of thread.

     And this is my busiest of seasons, given the largest competition in Minneapolis is always the first weekend after the 4th of July.  Battle of the Beadsmith entries are due on July 10th.  YIKES.  So although I am a very serious follower of rules, and waited until last night to begin the actual beading, I gave a great deal of thought to what I might do and why, and ordered parts I thought I would need in preparation for threading my needle and making a start.


     Early on, Steven mentioned the word "masterpiece" in conjunction with his expectations of our work.  I quietly thought, "impossible."  I think of a masterpiece as something that is widely regarded as the high point of a career, and I don't think you can create such a thing on demand.  So I called on Merriam Webster to help me understand how to proceed.  Here's what they said:

1: a work done with extraordinary skill; especially: a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement

2: a piece of work presented to a medieval guild as evidence of qualification for the rank of master

                                                                                                                                         

                                    

     I felt a little better.  I do have some skills, although extraordinary is a BIG word I didn't linger on.  Apparently, this would not be a good time to try new stitches, or something I don't have a good handle on, skill-wise.  Supreme achievement.  I don't know about that, but managing to stay on schedule and finish this work (and all my day job work) on time will be a definite Supreme Achievement.  So, check.

     I love the second definition.  Something that has always bothered my a bit in the beady world is, there are no teaching qualifications.  Everything else I have taught requires a specific education and a test to prove you know what you are doing, before you tell someone else how to do it.  So maybe, assuming my piece works out to be something I am proud of, it's like evidence of qualification.  I've been contemplating writing tutorials, and have begun to receive requests along those lines.  So... maybe this will be a push in that direction, although I don't expect it to transform me into any version of a beading "master."

     But, WHAT TO MAKE???   A rather big deal has been made of many countries represented in this festival.  There are more beaders from the USA than anywhere else, but I think I am the only one from Minnesota.  So, my plan is to represent my state with my work.  I had to think a bit about what my own strengths are, and what form my work usually takes.  I concluded my strength is primarily landscape and botanical art.  So, Minnesota is a gloriously beautiful place, and the beauty of my surroundings should be an appropriate theme for me.
 

     Plus, I thought the piece should be seasonally appropriate.  And here in Minneapolis, when this Beadsmith Battle gets underway on the 10th of July, we have our own festival, called Aquatennial.  It's a celebration of  summer in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and I love this year's skipper pin.  Looks like a color scheme to me!

     So I have ordered some supplies that look like water, and the braid on an Admiral's uniform.

     I am surrounded by inspiration, and I have begun my process of representing the beauty of my home, in all it's summery glory. 

Best of luck to all participants!  I cannot wait to see what everyone creates!