Creative whirlwind

Last year, Mikki Ferrugiaro invited me to contribute to the Bead Mavens blog, it is a post where I share my creative process with you.

Today I would like to talk about the creative whirlwind. Because that is what I'm in. And it feels so good to be in the eye of the storm! It is pure love, enthusiasm, fun. A state of being, not a state of mind. My pinky fingers never lie... 



Can you see it on the two pictures here? They are not recent, but I am in that state.






I had to shake myself to write a blog post to let you know that I'm ok, happily beading away. Yes. Beading and creating myself away. As if I weren't here anymore. And even if my apartment needs a good clean, I just can't resist this storm and won't resist it. Believe me, it is a waste of time to clean up and make a mess immediately after. It can even kill the creation that wants to be expressed through your hands. I'll tidy up when the storm will be over.

And indeed, my studio looks as if a storm has gone through. Because the more creative, the messier I get. There are beads everywhere on my trays. In tubes, boxes, little plastic bags, spilled over the beading mat in the tray... I have 5 trays, plus one very nice lap tray. They're all covered with beads and bits of beadwork. There also is my camera, sheets of paper, pads, boxes and tools everywhere on my desk. It 's hard to find a place for a cup of coffee. Fortunately hubby made a few extra shelves where the trays can be put away easily. For those who are interested in trays like this, these are very inexpensive "SMULA" from IKEA (only US$ 1.99 per piece; €2.99 in France).

Allthough I try to be organized and keep one tray for one project, when all my trays are full of beads, and projects waiting for that spark of enthusiasm, I continue making more projects on one tray. One is not finished but the other wants to come to life immediately.

Do you also feel that urge to create, sometimes?

Those "Oh this. And this. Oh, that too. Oh I should do that with those, oh and what would this look like with that"...

Looking at the picture here, I suddenly feel deeply grateful for this chair, for its comfort, bien sûr, but even more for the armrests. I couldn't do without it...

Thank you for reading me! Love to you all! Have a happy, creative day!

Back to beading now...

Out of BOTB'13, still BOTB-ing!

It is a particularly beautiful Summer in Switzerland this year. It is fantastic and much much appreciated after 10 months of cold. Being 'allergic' to light doesn't mean I don't like it, even if I have less freedom than a prisoner with a bracelet at his ankle.
I don't take apointments, do no shopping, nothing. It is like this the entire year, but particularly July and August. During these two months, and if lucky, beyond, I practice BOTB-ing as much as possible.

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My apartment faces the North-East, the sun is there until a certain hour in the morning and I keep the curtains closed until the sun is on the side of the building.

Today, the noisy grassmower of our building woke me up earlier than usual and I have mixed feelings about it. It is the loudest, oldest, noisiest mower in this area. It is also clear that it is useless trying to explain that grass does actually not grow much in July and August, because it uses its energy to not dehydrate and save its roots. The very little shade it has left for itself is priceless... so now the grass will burn. Like every year when the replacement of the concierge-on-holidays takes the job too seriously.

Now I've heard that some newbies in the building complain when the grass is not perfectly mown, sleek an chic, fully under control. As if the slightest little flower popping up makes it seem wild and neglected... Too serious people, too? Ha! that makes me think of a scene in Asterix and the Britts... With many thanks to Goscinny who knew how to highlight with much kindness what we, his human fellows, sometimes take so seriously. He succeeds to make me appreciate too serious people in a certain way...

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I'm waiting for the sun to turn (well, the earth to turn) and do some Beading On The Balcony, my sweet little balcony in the shade, and write a new pattern for you. I often think of the lake, so close - I can actually see a tiny tiny portion  of it -, and the water, the  boats, sailing, swimming, icecream, wind in my hair... and am grateful for beads and a shower in my bathroom.
And icecream, too.

This is my summer. I practice BOTB-ing. Beading On The Balcony. Funny that it has the same initials as the Battle Of The Beadsmith. Of which I have been eliminated in round 4 by Eva Dobos, who made a super beautiful necklace! I am not sad at all. I am not particularly proud about having gone up to round 4 either. I could have been eliminated in round 1 by one of the truly incredible, magical pieces which are now in the final group. I loved participating: the wonderful compliments from my peers made it truly enjoyable. Many thanks!

BOTB'13 is  a game more than a contest. If you participate in it, better not take it too seriously.
Same as life, better apply rule no. 6 - a very clever rule developed by the brilliant Mr. Benjamin Zander. It makes everything so much easier!

Mr. Zander at TEDTalks.

 

And you? Do you BOTB? Or maybe you BIP (Bead In Public) in a park?

Getting organized

I am still a little bit stuck with beading. Not because of lack of inspiration. In fact, I feel pretty tired and only make little things here and there on the corner of a beading mat. There is stuff everywhere all over the place to be put in boxes and, well... there is a serious lack of organizing boxes here in my room. A creative mess is nice, but I have to admit that having no place to put away unnecessary stuff, the space being eaten up by it, is really anti-productve. I feel demotivated. And tired. But I am not being lazy: I really want to clean my place.

Thinking of solutions, I realized that there is not much I can do apart from buying more boxes with compartment - because I have a nice place, with lots of trays and places to store my stuff.. And suddenly I thought that I could share with you what I prefer most.

Make-up organizer

I love my two little transparent make-up organizers which I use for tools, thread, pens for fabric, etc... here you can see one of them. Small but soooo handy.
And as you can see, I've added an elastic around bead tubes for them to remain together because they inspire me - maybe a new project? Don't know yet!

I have 10 plastic - stackable - drawers in which there is - fortunately - still place left for organizers. So I bought a few more little boxes online, and plastic tubes - I like my seed beads to be in tubes.

Bead Tube Tower

When ordering the tubes, I noticed that the little square flip-top (tic-tac) containers are less expensive... I have 4 bead towers for tubes from the Beadsmith and I love them - they are so practical to sort beads by type and by color. The Beadsmith now also offers a "Bead Tower II" for flip-top tubes. Click the image on the right to see their YouTube presentation. I still prefer round tubes because the lid of the flip-tops comes off if you use them a lot.

While browsing IKEA's website, I saw a very pretty oranizer: a white letter-tray box. To be honest, I have enough trays already, and I love them. My trays wouldn't fit in this organizer.

IKEA's letter organizer

Maybe I'll succeed to adapt my workspace to slide my trays like this somewhere... I think I will need my dear hubby's help for this.

I also saw a transparent over-the-door multi-pocket organizer on Ebay but didn't buy it - I already have a multi-pocket organizer where I put little bags with bead assortments for future projects, waiting for time.. but it is not transparent and I sometimes forget what's in there... It is made of green sturdy fabric. Shall I cut out little windows in the pockets?

I have white drawers with miscellanous stuff: adhesives, sewing-, cutting-, measuring-, and other useful material. I have 2 transparent boxes with little drawers in which I store finished projects which are not for myself and shelves with books. I like things to be white or transparent. It doesn't influence the colors of the bead work.

My order of last week (Delicas) has just arrived in the mail box and I can't wait to get started with them. However, I need to get rid of the mess first.

This is what it should look like:

Huh?

You think that I have too many beads?

Of course not, one can never have too many beads!