Showing posts with label creating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creating. Show all posts

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Bead Journal Project 2011

I'm very excited about deciding to participate in the Bead Journal Project 2011.  BJP is a group of people who have decided to create 12 beaded journal pages, one per month, for a year.  The goal is simply personal development and providing a pathway to expand our own artistic creativeness.

One of the goals for myself in 2011 is to increase awareness of myself as an artist.  I am looking forward to not following any rules and letting my muse have her way on these monthly projects.

We can use any medium in our projects as long as we also include beads.  I'll be using some of my dichroic glass cabochons and using bead weaving to create my journal pages.

I haven't decided on any particular theme, but I have decided to keep my projects small (no more that 3" x 3") so that I don't get overwhelmed and give up.  I guess that's my worst fear.

I hope to share my progress and my creations with you all throughout the year.  Happy Beading in the new year to one and all!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Joy of Creating



I find that creating brings me such joy - a deep seated happiness that makes my heart sing and my spirit soar.  I greatly admire artists who express themselves through their work.  I enjoy seeing things of beauty - whether in nature created by God or in books and magazines, created by fellow artists.  I know what goes into the creating process and the feelings involved are not always pleasant.  Anxiety and fear can play a role as well as hope and love.  When the artist perseveres through all the emotions and the creation is finished, that's when the final joy of creating is experienced.

When I make my dichroic glass cabochons, I not only experience joy in the process of creating but also every time I open the kiln and see the results of my labors.  But it doesn't stop there.  I get another dose of joy when someone tells me they like my work.  And another when they actually purchase one of my cabs and use it in one of their own creations.  And it doesn't stop there because someone may actually purchase that new creation because they love it and share it with others who enjoy it as well.  That is a lot of experienced joy for which I'm very grateful!

Here is just one example of how it all works.  I created a dichroic glass cabochon I called Lava Bed.


Lorraine Hickton of Trinitydj on Etsy purchased the cab and created this wonderful necklace she named after her friend Nancy Dale.

I'm very thankful for all of this shared joy.  It's what keeps me going when I experience the momentary anxiety and fear that come with temporary disappointments.  I hope that viewing this beautiful creation will help spread the joy even more.