Playing with Beads.....

Yep, sometimes it's just sheer play. I'm writing directions, ordering supplies, kitting up projects, sending off shipments, but sometimes the lure of the beads cannot be ignored. A couple of weeks back I mentioned carving out some time, and finally I was able to.

So yesterday afternoon, which was a perfect San Diego weather day, I took a tray of beads to the veranda and started to work through a design I had in my mind. It didn't exactly work out as planned, and I abandoned the first try, but during the process I saw a couple of more design opportunities.....still denied, and then I cut one of the pieces and it splayed out and presented the perfect embellished curved bit of sparkle.

hhhmmmm.....how can I do that intentionally? I always urge people to pick up the beads and play with them. Fold a piece of beadwork in half, curve it, fondle it, and sometimes you'll see something you wouldn't have seen.

So I recreated that curve into a perfect embellished circle which just happened to fit over the raised cap in the abandoned piece. It is now three dimensional and it spins! I love beadwork that moves.....Rings of Saturn, one of my earliest designs featured rings that spin around a central core.

The Calendar 2001 A Bead Odyssey featured this gold, green and pink Rings of Saturn.







This piece is far different and so far is only one component, but the potential is huge. I love it when I get excited about the beads!