Over the last few weeks since I returned from my first time being a vendor at BeadFest, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my experience there and wondering about whether or not there are more bead shows in my future. Over the last few years since I began making beads and jewelry, there has been a definite shift in my work from one that was mostly focused on jewelry to one that is mostly focused on bead making.
Making and selling beads is not for everyone and preparing for a large bead show takes months of preparation. Producing and making multiples of the same design has never appealed to me all that much and no matter how many boundaries you set for yourself, there is a tendency for customers to ask for something you are no longer very excited about making. For a working artist, that can mean crossing back over boundaries you've set for yourself because there are bills to pay and customers to please.
So last week, after I returned home and unpacked and put my studio in order, I sat down for the first time in over a month at my work table to make beads.
I had no idea where to start. Perhaps making beads for 6 months non stop will do that to you. I had no energy to put new ideas to work yet and the thought of making one more bead in a similar style to what I had been making sounded way less than appealing.
I decided to revisit some of the first designs I had made almost 3 years ago, small birds and owls. They had always been a customer favorite and many folks were disappointed that I was no longer too crazy about making them. However, as I sat and began making tiny birds, I felt something return that I haven't felt in some time.
Pure unadulturated joy at making birds.
While I don't know what the future holds at this point for my beadmaking future, I do know for now that each bead I make needs to be filled with that same joy. Each piece of jewelry needs to have that same enthusiasm and I'm excited to begin again...
