The Creative Process

Don't worry Bead Soup Blog Hoppers - No finished piece here until reveal day and I'm not so sure which components I'll use.  And, for sure none of those red beads are going into the finished piece.

 

What to do what to do - I've made some progress but am still undecided on so many fronts.  I was originally stuck for awhile.   I put everything away and let it gel (or let it fall completely from my mind for a couple of weeks until I was feeling some pressure).  Either one of those creative situations usually works pretty good for me.   I find getting some pieces together and leaving them under your nose after they've been put away for a bit tends to reboot the computer.  Then comes the drawing pad.  I don't just use it for drawing but also free word association - just all kinds of notes/ quotes/ anything that smacks of setting my creative side afire. 

 

Home - home - home.  There was that odd ceramic shape - so much like my home...but what was I to do with that?  Uh, let's see....and here is where the free association can come in, plus some down and dirty Internet searches. 

 

1.  Home Sweet Home

2.  No Place Like Home

3.  Home is Where the Heart Is

4.  My Old Kentucky Home

 

You get the idea.  You can find the key to your theme within your focal.  Be it a word association - color Segway - poem - chorus to a song - you get the picture.  I'll bet that plenty of those phrases up there brought out visuals for you.   No place like home led me to think of ruby slippers and since it was obvious from my soup that I was going to be working in blue I quickly ruled that out.  Kentucky is a beautiful state for sure but all I could think about what the Derby and horses and for sure that shape was not a barn, it's my house.   Now home is where the heart is appealed to me as I love making glass hearts...but then it hit me.  I've seen Home Sweet Home twisted around every which way but loose and had recently created a bead batch which included a bird - Bang - Wham - there it was:

 

"Home Tweet Home"

 

You've seen the drawings so I guess this post is the prequel to the Blog Hop story I've previously posted since you've already seen the drawings that came after the angst of hiding (uh, storing) my soup and then re-revealing it to myself.  So when in doubt (for me) it's:

 

Lose the objects of frustration to your creative energy (bead closet for me)

Reintroduce the components and leave them where you can see them in passing

Start some free association with the focal component and decide your theme (loosely)

Start your drawing and note taking

Look through your stash for "go with items" (hunting and gathering)

Tighten that theme and the drawings

Begin to create but keep in mind nothing is written in stone (see my experiment with finger weaving)

Experiment with techniques (what haven't you done - how safe do you want to play it?)

Think about this - do you just want to string that piece? Take into consideration how much time you've left yourself for the completion of this project.  But remember - you want people to notice the consideration you've given to that Blog Soup gift and visit your blog again...notice your work and your talent.  Right?  Don't kill yourself - for sure - but use your talents to the best of their abilities.

Make your final decisions - Techniques, Design, Color, Accessory Components, etc.

Create your additional components and finish that piece.

 

For me - this is the process for Bead Soup creation with gift pieces - it's meant to be a challenge but not an agony.  It's never been easy and I always like to throw in an extra curve for myself.  One year it was waxed linen and a spiritual theme, another it was more of a knotting project and a very full necklace but its always been fun.  I'm excited to have an extra week but not happy that Lori's been sick.  I can't wait to see what Shannon has done, but to be honest I was a little "tight" in my color selection and should have thrown her a bigger curve ball - she could have easily handled it.  And now that I've worked my process a bit I'm excited to show what I've done too.  I hope you'll like it.