Beaded 2 Bless

Whenever I create a doll, I am whisked away by the Creative Spirit. It is that little voice inside me that directs me down the path. With "Firefly" that voice was harder to hear and spoke far fewer words, just as you might expect from a doll that is asking the for the flames to be fanned into an inferno from just a smoldering coal. The vision grew into a brighter light. Now we have "The Flood". It is indeed  a flood of ideas, a rushing movement of a fluid life. It is another representation of one's life captured in art, a piece that has identified what cannot be explained in words. Face the Flood. The face of "The Flood" is aware, somewhat serene, but will keep you wondering. The color captures the strength  of the wave caps.  Even the texture is meant to portray the "foaming" of the waves as they break. Since first creating this doll's form, there have been many projects to complete, strict schedules to stick too, and ...

Some might call this the end of the journey, when the project is complete, but it isn't over yet! It is really only just beginning.  A new doll has been born! A new season! A new Birth to celebrate! A name has been chosen! It is my privilege to introduce to you: "Firefly" Her name is quite simple and may not totally relate to the multiple meanings, but it suits. I think of the little light these little bugs give off in an increasingly darkening sky. They joy they gave me as a child and the wonder of how they lit up. It totally suits! I want to send out a special thanks again to the 14 ladies that gave her wings. Joetta Adams, Judi Burkhalter, Jeanne Evans, Aryd’ell Hotelling, Gail Isbel, Rose Mary Jameson, Catherine King, Gwen Mazzocco, Candys McCulley, Gale Michel, Ann Page, Karan Parker, Debra Pyeatt, and Jena Tuntas You all sent so many home to me that not all of them were used but everyone of them blessed me! I am sure they will all find a home at some point.  You...

If there is anything I have learned about beading, it is how much time it really takes to accomplish something. After all, the main reason I pursued beading was because it consumed more of my time, which slowed ME down. I naturally zoom through life and that is NOT always a good thing. I have learned to pace myself or to set realistic goals when something needs to be done. What exactly HAS to be done by WHEN? I decided that both legs needed to be beaded by the 18th so that I can bead the back and arms just before putting on the wings and feathers. Somewhere in there, the hair has to be figured in.  I am still up in the air on that one because it will catch on everything but  then again so will the feathers. I am almost done with both legs! I am going to stick my neck out to get some of the back done before I crash tonight. I am going to need a little leeway for the hair and or feathers. Here is how it looks to this moment. Just a little m...

One thing that always resonates with me in my art is purpose. I prefer to have a reason to make something,  for it to have a function or  a particular purpose. It gives me motivation on a whole new level.  Now this doll has its very own purpose, more than just materializing a vision. The push to finish her and have her photographed and submitted by March first is ON. I have 16 helpers making those feathers in 3 different shades from white to dark grey. They will be given credit as those who helped give her wings. Here is my progress. It is not the most recent bit of progress but you can already tell how much more quickly I am working when there is purpose. The most recent progress has most of this thigh top and bottom done. I love the pose of the feet in this picture. I am feeling confident that this can be done- thanks to the other ladies. Blessings!

Whenever you work on a doll  you don't always have all the pieces together. I usually have more of the big picture than I did with this doll. What it has taught me is to "Take it one Step at a Time". While I worked on the flames, more and more things revealed themselves to me. I knew this doll was to have wings. What I didn't know was why. Now I DO! Follow along my thought process for a  minute. As a flame burns, there is a change created. We are left with Ashes. I remembered "beauty for ashes" and had to go find out why it sounded like I was trading beauty for a pile of ashes- when I knew it was supposed to be the other way around. When I found it,  it smacked me. I mean it resonated deep within me. Isaiah 61:3 "To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorifie...

The  biggest challenge I face when I create a large project (of any kind) is faithfulness. I allow myself to toy with different ideas within the project but I am a stickler for being faithful to the vision. If it doesn't fit- it gets tossed to the side. This process is actually the part that I love. I think you might  call it problem solving but I like to refer to it as creative engineering.  When I began this doll,  I felt like I was working with a foreign medium, one never explored before. It sounds strange even to me, especially as I had my previous pieces right under my nose to contradict that feeling of inadequacy. I haven't made a doll in quite some time. I was completely disinterested with anything that had to do with bead embroidery. The last doll I completed took such a chunk of my soul to complete, I am still struggling getting over it and the events of my life that occured while creating her. So, I started to embroider on the arms of th...

Whenever a momma of any kind births, she begins to nest. She gathers things needed for a  time when little else gets done besides the nurturing of a new creature. Whenever we craft or create we do the same thing. We gather things close to us that we feel are necessary for some serious time spent on our project. On a grander scale, some may refer to it as "hoarding" but I prefer to call it nesting. It allows us to focus on the task at hand without interruption or distraction. It makes sense, doesn't it? My collecting usually starts with seed beads. I hunt down every possible color that I may want to include. For this doll I have put together 3 different mixes of flesh tones in different intensities.If you know me, you would think I am really crazy because I do NOT like my beads mixed. However, the idea is to see the glow of a flame reflecting off of a natural skin tone.  "Flesh to flames". When I gather my materials, I leave no bin untouched. I search every dr...

After giving in to the desire to just work in my journal instead of all the other "crafts"  that I love,  I began to question the purpose of it all. Why am I spending so much time on this when it isn't going to be something I can give or sell or even market in any way? What am I doing this for? What is it's purpose? It all boils down the the latter question. What IS its purpose, what function does it serve? You can't wear it, you can't hang it- all you can do is look at it (when you are done). Then I came upon something profound- a revelation. I have to "re purpose" my thoughts and feelings towards this endeavor, this visual journal. I have to admit I don't really know what purpose it serves but it must be a good one or I would not gravitate so heavily to it.  I have to rest in the fact that I may not know! In fact, I don't! I may not have all the details but it will make a difference somehow. It has already started a reflective process in me...