AI means not you, not us.

Rowena Henderson's
Klimt Sunflower earrings

I wanted to write some ramblings about AI since quite a while. Here on my blog seems to be a better place than on social media. Here, only folks who care to read my posts without feeling that I rub something unwanted under their nose will hop by... (photos of some of my 2024 beadwork just for attention).

This blog article is dedicated with all my 💗 to Dini Alves, a soulful lady and talented bead-artist who passed away in December 2024.

 

Silver Wings, Happy Wings,
own design

 So AI... Sigh. I've always had mixed feelings about AI. AI is something that replaces humans a little bit more every day. Clerks and cashiers disappear. We are asked to scan our own stuff, to fill out forms ourselves.  It's easy... but so sad. People are replaced by machines in many places. Now if this was to give us more time to do our daily yoga, cooking and have more playtime with children, it would be nice. But in fact, it only takes away jobs, whilst money goes in the same fat pockets. The number of little pockets filled is diminishing at an alarming rate. Technology is nice, but it should be a tool for humans, not replace humans.

 

Mairi Carlson's Klimt Flower Garden

Halfpenney's Drum for IBW

In December I let myself be tempted... and asked an AI image generator to make something quick for my Christmas and New Year's wishes. It was fun to do and the result cute. AI can make cool images. And I don't consider them as mine, and also not as "Art"... Nope. An Art is something that implies skills and imagination. The resulting images can be really lovely. And at first sight, nothing seems wrong with having fun, having a play... But...

It made me feel uncomfortable. Because AI uses other people's work and mixes it.

I saw a post on Facebook - and although Facebook is not a reference, the text in this entry from the The Red Hand Files, by Nick Cave (a musician), answering 2 young songwriters, sums up my feelings pretty well:

 

"Open Heart" - Pregnancy Chime Bola, own design

Q1: I work in the music industry and there is a lot of excitement around ChatGPT. I was talking to a songwriter in a band that was using ChatGPT to write his lyrics, because it was so much 'faster and easier.' I couldn't really argue against that. I know you've talked about ChatGPT before, but what's wrong with making things faster and easier?

LEON, LOS ANGELES, USA

Q2: Any advice to a young songwriter just starting out?

CHARLIE, LEEDS, UK

 

A: Dear Leon and Charlie,

 

In the story of the creation, God makes the world, and everything in it, in six days. On the seventh day he rests. The day of rest is significant because it suggests that the creation required a certain effort on God's part, that some form of artistic struggle had taken place. This struggle is the validating impulse that gives God's world its intrinsic meaning. The world becomes more than just an object full of other objects, rather it is imbued with the vital spirit, the pneuma, of its creator.

 

 

Teyema earrings, BWG Journal 103, Oct. 2024, own design

 

ChatGPT rejects any notions of creative struggle, that our endeavours animate and nurture our lives giving them depth and meaning. It rejects that there is a collective, essential and unconscious human spirit underpinning our existence, connecting us all through our mutual striving.

 

Nancy Jenner's "Corrine" design
Klimtified by Yours Truly

ChatGPT is fast-tracking the commodification of the human spirit by mechanising the imagination. It renders our participation in the act of creation as valueless and unnecessary. That 'songwriter 'you were talking to, Leon, who is using ChatGPT to write 'his' lyrics because it is 'faster and easier ,'is participating in this erosion of the world’s soul and the spirit of humanity itself and, to put it politely, should fucking desist if he wants to continue calling himself a songwriter.

 

ChatGPT’s intent is to eliminate the process of creation and its attendant challenges, viewing it as nothing more than a time-wasting inconvenience that stands in the way of the commodity itself. Why strive? Why bother with the artistic process and its accompanying trials? Why shouldn’t we make it 'faster and easier?'

 

 

IBW free pattern - Beaded Marbles for Solitaire Board

 

Sue Wightman's Christingle Xmas Tree

When the God of the Bible looked upon what He had created, He did so with a sense of accomplishment and saw that 'it was good'. 'It was good 'because it required something of His own self, and His struggle imbued creation with a moral imperative, in short love. 

 

Charlie, even though the creative act requires considerable effort, in the end you will be contributing to the vast network of love that supports human existence. There are all sorts of temptations in this world that will eat away at your creative spirit, but none more fiendish than that boundless machine of artistic demoralisation, ChatGPT.

 

Sylvia Fairhurst's
Priscilla Pinguin

As humans, we so often feel helpless in our own smallness, yet still we find the resilience to do and make beautiful things, and this is where the meaning of life resides. 

Nature reminds us of this constantly. The world is often cast as a purely malignant place, but still the joy of creation exerts itself, and as the sun rises upon the struggle of the day, the Great Crested Grebe dances upon the water. It is our striving that becomes the very essence of meaning. 

 

This impulse – the creative dance – that is now being so cynically undermined, must be defended at all costs, and just as we would fight any existential evil, we should fight it tooth and nail, for we are fighting for the very soul of the world.

 

Love, Nick

 

Nancy Jenner's Ginger Bead Man

Can you feel how it is all about things that one cannot see but know is real and important? Feelings are what makes us humans, real and true. I am not a God-this or god-that person. Maybe you aren't either but haven't ran away yet. So perhaps this will speak more to you: 

Reading the above lines, I strongly felt the same emotion when reading a chapter in Harry Potter -> the moment when he chooses to bury the House Elf Dobby without using magic. Out of respect, he pulled up his sleeves and dedicated time, effort and sweat to honor Dobby's sacrifice, for he died while rescuing Harry and his friends from Malfoy Manor, demonstrating his loyalty and bravery. 

Kathy Fritz's Champagne Bottle (IBW)

Art and acts of this importance should be meaningful, soulful. That's where our value resides. Inside of us, inside of what we do and create.

And this revealed to me why I didn't feel happiness or real satisfaction in the making of these images. 

 

If you've read this until the end, thank you! 

Happy New Year and much love to you.

Cath

Bow & Mistletoe, own design

Chaudfroid, or Uncle Bob's periple.

This beading experience was one of the most satisfying (chaud) and frustrating (froid) ever. To explain this, I have to explain first that the batch of Permalux beads that I received from Preciosa Ornela in 2021 - ages ago - were the crappiest beads I've ever had in hands (they are not anymore, but!) I am a geometric beader at heart, and even though I tried very hard, I could not bead with these beads without the coating chipping off. It was a thick coat though, and the colors were splendid, so I was terribly bummed.

Preciosa said that they knew about it (ah bon?), that the problem had been addressed (cool!), and asked if I could try to create something with techniques that would not result in too much damage to the beads? 😒Apparently a question of cost and time running out. I tried. After all, Preciosa make tremendously beautiful photos of beadwork. (on the right). But it was not fun. Beading has to be fun. It may be challenging, but not for this type of reasons.

 

 

 

Later, I learned that other designers had received new batches to replace the bad one, and apparently they're much better, which is good to know.

But sometimes you need lemons to make lemonade! This is what happened.

Not wanting to keep these beads, I poured them one after the other on my beading mat without putting them back in containers. I made several things using coraling and fringing and the result was nice, but it was not really what I wanted to make. However, I ended up with a most delightful ocean of color on my tray and thought "gosh, if only I could keep it this way".

 

 That woke up the muse (fast asleep until then): Use Uncle Bob! The skull Ezra gave!!! Do like those who poor paint in water and tadam! Ooooh. That sounded exciting!

I had everything at hands to do bead mosaic but never really "dared" on my skull. "Something" was missing. Now I had the most delightful colors to create what I envisioned, and so I turned it into something I had never seen before:

Bead dipping!

And it was super fun!

 My inspiration came from an advertisement by Mercedes Benz that I saw in 2014 or so:

For the note: the finished skull should be called "Beaders Brain", but Uncle Bob is how my hubby called him years ago. Uncle Bob has made many appearances at Halloween, and now we cannot call him differently, even if he looks different now :) You will discover, if you read further, that he unfortunately doesn't wear his name well at all.

First I painted the skull with a special "concrete" paint. then I "mosaiqued" Pip beads into flowers on the skull, which I painted gold.

Then, on the left side, I added 'gold' foil, crystals in settings, cup chain and crystal mesh, to illustrate the left brain, the analytical and calculating brain.

On the right side, I added glue and then rolled the skull in the beads, starting with the jaw first. Well, that went well! So satisfying.So much fun!

Of course, after I did the jaw, I saw room for improvement and that was to mix the colors a bit more and include tiny forget-me-not's, and then I rolled the entire skull. 

There remained tons of little spaces to fill and I needed more glue (in a syringe), tweezers and a looot of patience to obtain the result I was after.

It goes without saying that I tried to add huge crystals, and other things (flowers, etc) to the eyes, but that looked really creepy! So I left them empty. One can imagine all sorts of expressions like this.

Of course I ran out of varnish when I needed it the most, because I was also running out of time. Bless the husbest who ran to get another spray.

I sent photos of the drying skull to Preciosa who said that they loved it. I wasn't sure so I preferred to ask. A couple of days later I posted my big box, which was quite an expensive matter, but in my mind, Preciosa's photos are worth an effort. With a sight of relief I now could lean back and look forward to seeing them.

But then............

The war in Ukraine broke out.

The box got stuck at customs.

I had given the correct TARIC number for a sculpture made with "other" materials but perhaps they thought that it was a real skull... It is a replica used for biology class after all, but still: the Swiss would not have accepted to transport it if it had been something not ok! They have "molecular sniffers" for this.

It took well 2 more weeks for this to be sorted, and so it didn't meet the deadline, but also, the advertisement team feared that it would trigger unhappy feelings and preferred to send it back without making photos. I explained that the whole project had nothing to do with death. It was a skull, ok, but it represented a beaders brain! I suggested making photos and let them sit in a drawer if needed. 

Well, skull came back but photos never got out of the drawer - if they ever made any. I have no idea about this, they never told me. When they finally published the first photos of the campaign, it started with a sweet collection for children, and a lovely fairy-tale-themed poster gave me hope for the Fall, at Halloween.

When they posted their Halloween photos past year, it included a skull, but not mine. I understood then that they wouldn't use it. December I wrote to them that without news, I would publish the photos of my work in January. 3 projects that I cannot talk about is just too much! Even 4 considering some designs part of my Muserie Workshop! 3 months have passed, it's nearly Spring, the Princess Check Pouch has been published in the meantime, and now I need to move on.

I can make collages with my GIMP too! And even if not perfect, I am quite happy with my efforts.  "Skull Stories" represents the idea that the skull landed on a pile of magical books amongst which one invited it to participate in various tales. It was an interesting exercise in using layers and transparency etc. It sure asks for a lot of time and in my case, starting over after too many errors, but I "got it".

Skull Stories

Skull design, beadwork, photography and digital composition by Cath Thomas 

Image of burning flames and books by Mystic Art Design. Image of globe by loulou Nash. Image of palace by Dorothe. Image of merlin by gagagart. Images of sitting and standing women by Dina Dee. Attribution was not required, but I think that it is only fair to thank all these talented artists for their lovely work and their generosity.

And if you feel like trying some bead dipping too, I highly recommend it. It's therapeutic.

I made the photos below with my brand new light box,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and a gif :)
Hope you like it    

 

Thank you for reading me!

Cath

Black Tiles Matter

The newly founded Museum of Beadwork launched a beautiful collaborative beading project called "The Beaded Square" project to celebrate their opening. Bead artists from all horizons were asked to bead a 6"x6" square for a permanent exhibit. You can see the photos of all the squares here and will discover amazing art. Not one piece is the same, but all are amazingly beautiful. 

This is my square (photographed on a red background that is not part of the square).

Black Tiles Matter

 It was a humbling process to create. I am not a very good bead embroiderer, which shows, ugh. Admittedly, I am not even able to cut paper or fabric straight, but with this piece I discovered that doing straight bead-embroidery is... de la folie. But I really wanted to make my tile like this.

Pondering where to place the
"jewels"

The guidelines for the squares (size, etc.) included a preference for jewel tones. That tickled me, and my muse, rebellious by nature, said "make a dissent tile with Diamond Weave black tiles and call it "Black Tiles Matter" (as a wink to "Black Lives Matter", of course).

As a beadweaver, I used quite a bit of beadweaving and because so many things happened in 2020, the BLM aspect of the piece is quite obvious.

The overal construction was inspired by the sky view of the road painted with yellow letters in New York City:

The variations in the black tiles represent black lives in their diversity. The crystal stones represent talent, potential - some have loads, some not - it doesn't matter: they all matter.

The long bugles and the crystal cup chain represent walls (of wealth) and fences (of fortune), or how power emprisons the black lives. 

 

The raised center represents the growing force beneath the whole BLM movement, deep and strong. 

Because the long bugles broke the thread continuously, I attached them all with coated wire. It was all lovely, nice, quite straight... but didn't feel good. Because unfair systems should not be maintained. So I disturbed it, and broke the "walls" intentionally.

Artwork by Banksy

Cesar A. Cruz said that "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable" (Banksy spread the word). I think that many beautiful, non-disturbing things can be considered as Art, but love that our beadwork can convey messages. And that even a collar can have a deep meaning when related to actions - like the one worn by late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to express dissent. It has become so well known, that when searching for the word "dissent" with Google, her image, and items showing just her collar with the words "I dissent" are among the first results.

It is wonderful that now there is a museum of beadwork, chanting the beautiful art of beading and beadweaving. And I'm grateful for the opportunity given to be part of what might well be or become one of the most prestigious collections of modern beadwork ever. Many thanks to the museum, their founders, sponsors and staff.

Kitsugi-inspired freeform peyote

I discovered freeform peyote and bead embroidery nearly at the same time. I was completely fascinated by Tina Koyama's and Lillian Todaro's beautiful beadwork.

I have never learned it from a teacher, or book and was a bit lost, but managed to make 2 necklaces.with bead embroidery and freeform straps. Both are dating back to 2006. One is called Atoll, inspired by the beautiful photography "Eye of the Maldives" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and the other is called BaBe ('Baah-Bay') - formed by 3 rivers, in Vietnam. Babe means 3 lakes, but it forms only one nowadays, due to all the sediments that have filled the bottom of these 3.

'Atoll'

'Babe'

Although I love the result very much, they are far from perfect, and I wanted to learn more beadweaving techniques before tackling this type of beadwork again. I got hooked on Cellini peyote, and geometric beading, but I knew that I would come back to freeform one day. 

I made progress and created many designs. One day, I dreamt of another, entirely freeform beadwoven necklace, called Liquid Earth. In that dream I offered it to sha-woman Keisha Crowther, aka Little Grandmother and founder of the Tribe of Many Colors. Keisha is a protector of Mother Earth and healer. I respect her work tremendously, and so I made it, and sent it to her.

'Liquid Earth'

Last Summer, I decided to offer a workshop to other persons who are also struggling with health issues, in collaboration with our common ergotherapist.

I decided to teach them peyote, and a freeform ring, and see what would happen. To prepare myself for this class, get my hands back at freeform peyote and have an example to show to them of what can be made with the technique I taught them, I made this 'River' bracelet and ring. 

'River'

'River' - upside down

River has a double glass button clasp.

'River' - ring

I was  pretty happy with the result. And my students were happy with theirs. And now I am in search of a place where to continue the adventure of beading all together. My ergotherapist herself is hooked too, and helping me. She will arrange for another place to visit in February, which is not soon enough, but alas, at least there is hope! And it is so close to my home that I should be able to go there by foot. Please, cross your fingers for me!
 

Now, after completing this piece, I decided to go for a special freeform peyote cuff, inspired by the art of Kitsugi, which is the art of repairing cracks in broken pottery by adding gold to focus the attention on the breach, and the story behind it. To make an item that was already something dear to our heart a piece of art, with more significance. 

I have been wanting to create a cuff like this since a long time. With beautiful materials.

My goal was to make an allegory of a walk of life, with its moments of darkness and light...

with stellar people met, and key moments, be they good or bad, and light passing through all the cracks.

I let my needle and beads take some initiatives and ...

it ended up becoming the Universe... Initially, moon and sun were not meant to be there (and finding the sun button was quite challenging), but the piece simply called for both to be there. 

Also, the moon, reversible, is black on the other side, which allows me to wear it with its bright or dark side to the front.

'Silver Lining' - precious metal seed beads, freshwater pearls, sterling silver
findings, a glass moon bead and a gold plated metallic sun button.

Apparently, when I do freeform, my love for nature makes me create landscapes of all sorts.

There are lots of tutorials and explanations out there to do freeform peyote. I hope that you will give it a try. It is very liberating!