Hourglass Paper Beads

I've finally realized that if I want to be better about updating this blog regularly, I should stop worrying so much about writing profound things and focus more on putting up pictures of my beads. I suspect that's what most of my readers are looking for anyway!

(Excuse my occasional foray back into deep thoughts, though--I am what I am!)

I made these beads a while ago but hadn't ever posted a picture. This paper was half and half found/painted. It was scrapbook paper that I added color to; the background was originally white. I cut these strips in 3/4 inch rectangles, then cut long triangles out of the rectangles to leave two separate strips for rolling. I love making paper beads in unusual shapes.

Paste Painted Paper Beads

I love the way these beads came out. If I had used red rather than orange, they'd look like little barber shop poles...

I painted these beads with tinted cornstarch paste. That gave me the ability to craw designs in the paint before it dried, which gave a nice texture to the paper. Plus it was a lot of fun! Here's how I did it.

I made a cornstarch paste by mixing 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Once it was well blended, I added another cup of water and heated it until it was thick. I stirred in a final 1/2 cup of water, then let it cool.

Once it was cool, I stirred in some acrylic paint in the color I wanted. Then I used a big, thick paintbrush to wet my paper, then painted a thickish layer of the colored paste over the whole page.

Once you're at that stage, let your imagination run wild to choose an implement to etch a design in your paint. I did these by drawing a silicone basting brush in diagonal lines across the paper. I did another page by scrunching up waxed paper and dabbing it over the paper.

Once the paper was dry, I ironed the back side at low heat before I cut and rolled it into beads. These strips were 3/4 inch at the wide end and 3/8 inch at the narrow end. I also did some 3/8 inch little round beads with the triangles that resulted from cutting the paper into blunt strips. My paper was 12x18 inches to start with.

Again, I encourage you to experiment in your own art. Don't be boring!

Art Out There

What a gorgeous day here in North Texas! I rolled a few beads, but I spent most of the day outside with my family. We went hiking at the state park near our house--still awfully muddy, but after being shut up in the house for so long, the sunshine was a wonderful inspiration.

I've been entranced lately (over the last six months or so) by noticing the pattern tree branches make against the sky. Such stark outlines, like God's pencil sketches. Of course they're less stark in the full bloom of summer, but it's still a sharp contrast against the blue of the sky. These in this photograph were particularly interesting. This tree had bark at the bottom, but the top branches were stripped bare to white. Bizarre.

I can't say I particularly try to copy any of these patterns when I'm making art to create beads from, but I always feel inspired in my art after being out in nature. I think I feel a connection to the first Creator, who provides such beauty for us to enjoy.

Granite Paper Beads

I just had to post a picture of these newest beads I listed on my Etsy site, because they might be my favorite ones yet! Can you believe this set of beads began life as a sheet of plain white paper? These beads are the result of the experiment I mentioned several posts earlier--the one where I was trying to imitate a restaurant wall I loved. To me they look like a polished granite countertop.

I used a mixture of blue and green paint to create that deep turquoise color, then I added some bronze paint and sponged it all over my paper. Then I cut strips that were 1/2 inch on one end, narrowing to 1/4 inch at the other end. The spacer beads are 1/4 inch triangles. I gave these beads four coats of the polycrylic gloss.

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again... the wonderful thing about art is that it's ALL available to you. Any idea is open for trying. You may fail spectacularly, like when I tried rolling sandpaper into a bead. (Hint: that doesn't work!) Or you may create something beautiful. But the fun is in the experiment.

Still a Writer, Too

I've been feeling kind of odd lately about switching my creative energy to bead-making. I love it, and yet it's weird, because I've considered myself a fiction writer for most of my life. (Well, except for the period when I was an actress, but that's another saga altogether.)

I'd made my peace with it over the last week or so, mostly as a result of re-reading Colleen Hubbard's book Big Purple Mommy: Nurturing Our Creative Work, Our Children, and Ourselves She discusses being a mother who creates, in whatever form that takes. In that book, I heard the similarities between writers and artists and actors and dancers, and I realized I didn't have to choose--absolutely--what kind of creator I am. I am, simply, one who must create. Something.

And tonight I got a wonderful reminder that switching my energy to visual arts for a time doesn't negate my writing. I just got a contract for a sketch script I submitted to Drama Ministry over a year ago. Somehow, it confirms everything. Yes, I am an artist. And a writer. And an actress. As well as a wife and mother and woman. I use my creativity to shape the world around me.

It's coming out beautifully.

Spinning Top Paper Beads

My poor son has had strep throat this week. It's been very low key around our house! I think the antibiotics are finally kicking in, and he's finally making a recovery.

In the meantime, I'm having fun playing with this new bead shape I... discovered? invented? They make me think of a child's spinning top toy. I've made them in two different sizes, as you can see, but I think I prefer the longer ones. I made these by first rolling a traditional paper bead, all the way to a point, then rolling a second, thinner strip around the middle. It's kind of a challenge to get the second strip to stay centered, but I think it's worth it. They're fun, unique little beads.

I've also been playing with painting my own paper, as I talked about in the last post. Some of that is coming out really well--I love it! I don't have pictures yet, but I'll put some up when I have them.

I love the way being creative means there's never a lack of new things to try!

Art Overcoming Fear

I was in two different restaurants yesterday (yes, it was one of those days), and in each of them I found a wall that I longed to turn into a paper bead. Of course, I realized pretty quickly that even if I'd had access to said walls, I can't roll a wall into a bead. But I've been thinking a lot more about painting my own paper for beads.

I've done some of that. I've made a couple of bead sets that started out as white paper I painted before cutting. More often I've added paint to scrapbook paper to enhance the colors already there. But I'm really longing to experiment more with color and texture and combinations to make beads that are truly original pieces of art.

There's fear there, though. I feel inadequate when it comes to painting. Nothing ever comes out on paper quite the way I'd envisioned it in my head. I realize the more I practice the better I'll get. But that means fighting the voices that tell me I'm inadequate.

I guess that's what all art is about--gathering the courage to leave your mark despite your fear of inadequacy. Maybe even worse than inadequacy is the fear that nothing you have to say is original or necessary. Being an artist--of any kind--means announcing that you believe your imaginings are important.

I choose to believe. I will leave my mark. How about you?

Paper Bead Greeting Card

A friend recently said to me, "Don't you ever stop being creative?" I guess the answer is, No--I can't. The ideas just keep coming, and I love it! Here's my latest. This is a greeting card decorated with paper beads.

I found some card stock that I thought would be a good background for a card, and I cut part of it into strips to make beads. These are regular, inch-long tapered beads. Then I sewed the beads onto plain card stock and the decorative card stock, just like I did when I made the paper bead plaques. Then I used glue dots to attach it to a plain 5x7 greeting card.

I love this because it's so simple yet so elegant. It would be a great greeting to send to a friend, because after they read the note you'd written inside, the card would be ready to hang in a 5x7 frame.

Paper Bead Wall Art

I've been thinking lately about ways to use paper beads other than jewelry. They're great for jewelry, of course--so lightweight and easy to wear--but I'm not much of a jewelry designer. My necklaces all look pretty much the same except different beads. Now, with paper beads, the differences between beads may be enough to make that work, but still, I'm looking for a project that's more uniquely me.

So I've been experimenting with wall art. I'm starting small, for now, making 5x7 plaques. I'll post some pictures once I have one completely finished, but I'm excited about the way they're coming out so far. I'm using half a sheet of paper to make beads, and the other half as a mat. I sew the beads onto card stock in interesting designs and mount it on the coordinating paper. Very cool.

Family Fun

My son Nathan, who's 11, has had an on-again, off-again relationship with my paper bead creation. Sometimes he acts like he's too cool to even notice what I'm doing. At other times, he's been handing my website address to his art teacher and talking me up like I'm the next big thing. So most of the time, I let him decide whether or not I'll share what I've been up to.

The last two days, though, it's been on-again. He's decided he wants to try to make beads too. And he quickly discovered (imagine that!) that making paper beads is a lot harder than it looks. Before he got frustrated and walked away, though, he made some really funky beads. And it got me thinking.

Maybe I'm being a little TOO careful about making sure my cut lines are straight. Maybe I'm taking too much time lining everything up to end up with a smoothly tapered bead. It is, of course, important to be able to do that. And for many bead sets, I want a uniform product at the end. But I could picture a really cool necklace made from Nathan's funky, misshapen beads.

I'm thinking about experimenting with more randomness. Maybe I'll just tear some paper strips and see what kind of beads those make. Or maybe I'll roll with abandon and not worry if my paper ends up in an X at the end. After all, what is the point of art if it's not uniqueness and experimentation?

The Need to Create

As I was rolling some paper beads this morning, I found myself watching myself, as if from a distance. And I thought--what drives a mature, adult woman to spend an hour rolling little strips of paper around toothpicks? The answer, the only answer, is that I have an innate need to create.

It was this same need that drove me to try stringing beads into jewelry in the first place, but that soon wasn't enough. It seemed more like rearranging than creating. So I started to experiment with making my own beads. There's something wonderful about starting with a blank sheet of paper and ending with a beautiful bead. That is truly creative.

So where does this need come from? The answer that feels most right to me is that my creativity is the way in which I was "formed in the image of God." Maybe some people were formed more in the image of His constancy or compassion or lovingkindness. For me, I feel connected to Him when I--metaphorically--scoop up some dust and breathe life into it.

So I won't question whether or not my paper beads fulfill a purpose in the grand scheme of things. They add beauty to the world. Their creation adds beauty to my life. And that is enough for me.