Beading

I am an engineer by day and a beader by night. I've been beading for about 5 years now. I favor intricate, hand stitched designs.

Much of my inspiration comes from the natural world - colors and shapes, textures and lighting in the sky, land and water. Sometimes I am inspired by a stitch - the way the beads fit together give me an idea for a new piece.

This is how I got into beading: I was in the library (always a dangerous place). My pre-school aged children were dissolving into tantrums. If I wanted to get a book, I had to do it fast. I saw a new paperback with a beautiful netted bead collar on the cover and wondered, how is that made?

After I checked that book out, my fate was sealed. Once I started beading I fell in love with it. The first time I went to a bead store, my reactions to all the colors, textures and shapes were so intense, I just wandered around for hours (still a problem). I saw visions of new patterns while I was at work. I felt driven to finish a project just to see what it would look like. Then I was off to the next one.

As a result, I have way too much jewelry! (and beads)