So, I never did make it to the Bead Expo this weekend - which is probably all for the best! I had a wonderful time at the SWAN event making collages and encouraging other people to make collages . . . it's so interesting to me how people will encourage their children to take the time for art, but don't feel like they have enough time to stop and make art . . . here's an adult collager at work - she found last year's PIX Patisserie calendar . . .
And here's one made by a woman who said she'd always wanted to a be textile designer:
Well, I gotta tell ya - I'd love to buy fabric with Hindu goddesses and William Blake quotes on it . . .
And here's one of mine done while staffing the table (how could I resist all those collage supplies laid out?!):
Ok, so I didn't make it to the Bead Expo. But, friends, the Bead Expo isn't the only way to get beads . . . I made this necklace almost entirely from beads that I collected in Nepal. (Ok, going to Nepal isn't the only way to get beads either, but it sure is fun!)
I got the large center turquoise bead when I was trekking in the Annapurnas above Jomosom. I only had "large" bills (each bill worth less than $20). Now, carrying cash was weird enough - I'm the kind of gal who uses a credit card to pay for everything, but most folks in remote Himalayan mountain villages don't take Visa, so, hey, I had cash - and the idea that my bills might be too large never even occurred to me! At a small teahouse where my guide Mana and I had stopped for a break, the owner didn't have enough change to break the bill I handed her to pay for our tea. The owner seemed a bit panicked, but my guide brokered a solution - perhaps I might like to look at some of the beads that the proprietress had, and take one as part of my change? Heck yeah! I selected that beautiful turquoise bead, and everyone was happy!
And here is my lovely guide Mana, pausing for a photo op in the little village of Marpha, Nepal.
(PS - and that photo actually isn't a composite - she's just backlit funny!)
Monday, March 31, 2008
More than one way to get beads . . .
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1 comment:
how did i not know about participating in SWAN? does pdxcreativexchange have a website? if so, i can't find it.
i loved what you had to say: "it's so interesting to me how people will encourage their children to take the time for art, but don't feel like they have enough time to stop and make art..."
it's so true! and when adults do art it has to be a "worthwhile" use of their time. they have to produce a tangible (and ideally pleasant) something, whereas if kids have fun that's good enough for them.
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