A Bead Muse Muses

What is Artistic Fear? Plus other ramblings!

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Artistic fear is just like any other fear, but it’s still a paralysing emotion, that can cause a ripple effect in your life. Let’s start with the definition of fear, but I don’t intend to leave it at that, because fear is not always a bad thing. Definition of fear: “An unpleasant emotion, caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. If you are an artist, then you have definitely experienced artistic fear in your life! It’s that blank page, or canvas syndrome, fear of opening tubes of beads, or even …

A Bead Muse Muses

May 2020 Bead Mat Update: A study in contrasts!

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May 2020 bead mat update, is definitely a study in contrasts. The world is starting to open up, but we’re all holding our breath, to see which way the tide will turn. Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed, that all will be well! This is a brand new world, and we need to adjust to it! Everything still feels pretty grey, but I’ve decided to continue to experiment, then paint my personal world with colour! Why do that, you say? Well, I’m the eternal optimist, cannot bear to watch the nightly news, but then tend to read all about it …

A Bead Muse Muses

What Sparks Joy?

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What sparks joy when you really give yourself a chance to feel it? Is it a colour, that first spring flower, or the feel of the sun on your face? How about a new tube of seedbeads, then the look, but not the scent of lilacs (I’m allergic)? I’d vote for all of those things, but also a brand-new pair of scissors, a sharp pencil, the feel of soft rain on my face, and forget-me-knot blue. Then, I couldn’t leave out the smell of bacon, and fresh baked bread. Delicious! I guess what sparks joy, is not really the question, …

A Bead Muse Muses

Dream a Little Dream!

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Dream a little dream is how I want to remember this scary time. I know, it’s not really a dream, yet rather a lesson from the universe, to the world at large. But this craziness must stop! Enough preaching, now let’s get on to the fun stuff! But how can you have fun during this terrible time, you ask? Well, by using your time wisely, then having something to show, when the world returns to normal, or at least to our new reality. Is that too much to ask? I think of myself as a realist, but then again, I’m …

A Bead Muse Muses

I Need to Bead: You Need to Bead!

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I need to bead, and it’s obvious that you need to bead! But please excuse me if I ramble. We love your support, but that’s not all! We also love that you’re getting back to basics. Our seed beads are literally flying off the walls!! We need to work our fingers to the bone, to keep up, while still harassing our suppliers. Yet it makes us happy, and also keeps us out of trouble! You might be patching up holes in your bead stash, but I’m guessing that there’s an awful lot of bead weaving, looming, Kumihimo, and other seed bead …

A Bead Muse Muses

April 2020 Bead Mat Update: I’ll keep on dancing!

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My April 2020 bead mat update, is a bit of a mess! Something old, something new, something paper, then a bit of resin. I dreamed about a freeform peyote project, that had no particular point, no timeline, definitely colourful, but needed to use up some of my leftover beads. This is the start! I reach for this project, when I need a distraction from the stresses of our new normal. But that’s not all! It keeps both my mind, and my hands occupied, while using some of the leftover bits and pieces in my stash. Isn’t that perfect? There is …

A Bead Muse Muses

Beaders Gotta Bead!

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Yes, beaders gotta bead, but in my case, do all sorts of other stuff as well! Dwyn did razz me about it, in last week’s update, but I confess that she’s not entirely wrong. I’m happy to see that she introduced the new Creative Art Pigments, so that gave me a chance to mess about! No, I did not buy up all the powders, but I did purchase my fair share. But in my defense, so did Amanda, and I expect that Dwyn has squirreled away a few as well. I hinted about these products, in last week’s post, then …

A Bead Muse Muses

Resin Dreams: What’s that you say?

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Resin dreams are a subject that I’m a little reluctant to talk about. It’s definitely mixed media focused, but I realize that not all beaders are interested. It’s not like I want to leave some of my readers out of a post, but I do need to talk about my other passions. Close your eyes, if you’re just not interested! Resin is something I fell into, just like most of you. I took a class, then decided to explore a little more. With my normal obsessive behaviour, I researched the subject, then decided to develop my own class. No, I …

A Bead Muse Muses

Let’s Talk Bead: Then remember to play!

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Let’s talk bead, but you must remember to play! Play is as essential as life, and we have a serious advantage, but we do know how to bead! Beading, and other hand crafts, are very therapeutic! They help to lower your stress levels, and who doesn’t need to lower those right now? I don’t want to dwell on the elephant in the room, but instead let’s talk bead! In last week’s blog post I gave you some simple instructions, on how to make a Bead Meditation. Did any of you try this out? If you did, please forward photos to …

A Bead Muse Muses

Bead Meditations: Something to think about!

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Bead meditations are a fusion of intuitive bead embroidery, and Stitch Meditations. But that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!! I get immense satisfaction, from my Stitch Meditations! Yes, I have added a few beads, in the past, but never enough! Could this be a totally new category? Is that enough? Make it so!! With Stitch Meditations, it’s all about the stitch, and any embellishment will always take a back seat. However, with Bead Meditations, it’s a little bit of fabric, and stitch, but beads add the wow factor. You use a needle, and thread, for both of them. …