Beading the Heat: Go Mobile!

by Patty Lakinsmith

 A few months ago I started a system for beading that's working well for me.  I'm not one of those who cleans up after every beading session, and this system at least helps to contain the disaster.  A little.  I've started taking my jewelry assembly work mobile.  For me this usually means in front of the TV while the baseball game is on in the living room (Go Giants!  Beat the Phillies!).  I do my soldering and hammering and other messy and noisy stuff in my jewelry studio, but simple assembly and wirework can be done anywhere. 

It builds on the system of using the oblong black jewelry trays with the velvet liner pads.  I put everything I'll need to assemble a piece in the tray, and I can take it anywhere to work.  I keep separate trays for my work in antiqued brass and silver, and only include the supplies I'll need to make a particular style.  I'll grab a set of lampwork beads or some focals, a tray, some gemstones, and my round divided container that contains things I use often - seamless rounds in several sizes, daisy spacers, crimp beads, etc.  It makes it very easy for me to "riff" on certain themes and produce a number of pieces using the same theme, colors, and components.  It's also not too messy and can be easily set aside when necessary.  Since I started storing my gemstones in clear plastic divided boxes, sorted by color families, it makes it easier to find things.  Could it be that I am finally organized?  Weeelllll, I wouldn't go that far, but I feel like it might be a good start.

We have been fortunate here in the San Francisco Bay area not to be suffering with the oppressive heat the rest of the country has, but on warmer days or just those where I want a change of scenery, I like to head outside to my new favorite shady spot.  My mom and I recently refinished this loveseat that her dad built years ago, and it's on the deck under an arbor thick with wisteria, and surrounded by fragrant jasmine.  I do my best gardening on the deck in pots, where my treasures are safe from predators and more regularly loved, and it's wonderful to soak up all of that inspiration Mother Nature serves up every single day.

How about you?  How has the heat affected your creative work?  Have you found a clever way to beat the heat?

Beading on the Go

Greetings! I've just returned from a week visiting my mom on Maui, and wanted to first thank everyone who kindly commented on my hollow bead post. You've given me lots of great ideas to think about!

My main objective on vacation was to just have some time to relax and be with mom, and I feel blessed to have achieved that. The things we do when we're alone there together include watching for whales from her condo lanai, playing Rummikub, going for long brisk walks, visiting with her friends, and cooking using local ingredients. I did have some quiet time on my own while on the 5 hour plane trip over there, and a few times while sitting in the sun, and wanted to make the most of it, so I took some beady projects.

Ever since meeting Kate McKinnon and seeing her incredible woven seed bead work I've wanted to try it. Mostly it was just to see if I could do it, and to think about how I might use techniques like that to enhance my own jewelry designs. I took Kate's latest book The Jewelry Architect, and a few practice beads, needle, and beading thread and conditioner. I took an old hand towel and some triangular metal bead tins too. Everything I needed for this (except the book and the towel) fit neatly into a one quart ziplock baggie.

Another project I took was some freshwater pearls and headpins to wire for later use. This required my flat and round nose pliers, which were fine to take on the plane since they were less than seven inches long. I printed out the TSA restricted items page to show any agents who might challenge me on taking these tools on the plane. I have donated a number of items to the TSA bin in the past, and was not keen on giving up my jewelry tools.

Last, I took some brass wire, an 8" long dowel rod, and some small wire cutters to make some Viking Knit tubes for use in bracelets and necklaces. I've tried this on airplanes before and it can be awkward (I tend to use rather long pieces of wire), but I had many a fine hour making tubes on mom's lanai and on the condo's patio. Next step is to draw them down into the desired length and width for my projects. I have to say, this was a real conversation starter by the pool at the condo - friends of my moms (even the men) would see me doing it and come over to ask what it was all about. I had anticipated this from the last time, so I wore a bracelet made from Viking Knit so I could show them the finished piece, and it made sense to them.

Now that I'm back I've got a number of new components to work with in my jewelry, and feel jubilant about the seed bead work in particular. I learned how to understand the instructions that had intimidated me before with their foreign references, and gained confidence that I could indeed make some very different components for my own work. It was empowering!

The only souvenir I'm not so wild about is the nasty head cold I picked up on vacation. Hopefully it will pass soon.