bead pattern

Funny I almost never do patterns in my beadwork, well not intentional ones at least.  A pattern might emerge in the way I choose to embellish differently in every other or every third space.  It might become apparent with the use of different colors, but to sit and create an intentional pattern is not something I usually do.

But an idea showed up which required for me to chart out the placement of beads.  I have seen people who can bead fairly complicated patterns without charting them out, but my brain just doesn't work that way.

So I drew myself a right angle weave grid and then colored in the beads.  This isn't really accurate as the round white beads will all be gold and the pink and turquoise will be 3 mm crystals.

Now that I've put it up here, it looks embarrassingly simplistic, like I ought to be able to bead it without the graphed aid I've created....but my brain can be easily confused by pattern.

I have another idea that will require pattern as well.  When I examine the fact that I seldom gravitate towards pattern I think it has to do with my impulsive nature.  Beading a pattern takes some pre-work, paying attention to counts, making a graph like this one.  I usually prefer just sitting down with a pile of beads to start the process.

I look at the work that is coming out of the Contemporary Geometric Beadwork book, and there are people producing the most amazing patterned pieces.  It's stunning to me, the way the placement of colors makes such a huge difference in the overall success of a piece, and there are so many who do that so beautifully.

For the time being I'll be beading up my simple design and contemplating one a bit more complex for my next project.

What about you?  Do you enjoy the process of creating pattern?