HOW TO BEAD A ROGUE ELEPHANT

…A Guide For The Aspiring Bead Artist
by Warren S. Feld
blog.landofodds.com

Excerpts From This Ever-Evolving Tale.....

I don’t mean to drag a poor Elephant by its tail, kicking and screaming, into our bead world against its wishes. Nor do I perceive the elephant to be a threat, like you might see an Elephant in the boudoir, or the fine china store. And I don’t want you to shut your eyes and pretend not to notice that this Elephant is here, standing shoulder to shoulder with every beader and jewelry maker around.

The Elephant is not a joke. And the fact that it is “Rogue” makes it more important than ever to figure out why it’s here, among size #10 English beading needles, and Czech size 11/0 seed beads, and Austrian crystal beads. It seems so worldly, yet other-worldly, our Elephant. It’s not our muse. It’s not our Cassandra. It has no secret plan or strategy. It does not depend on its size to make its point. It does not hesitate to stomp and chomp and clomp because the beads before it are raku or glass or gemstone or crystal or metal or plastic. But a Rogue Elephant in the middle of our craft room forces upon us a completely different logic, so that we can make sense of it all.|

CURRENT ROGUE ELEPHANT BLOG ARTICLES

How To Bead In A Car

If we’re to hunt down our rogue elephant, we may have to pursue him, at least part of the way, in a car. This begs the question: How do you bead in a car?

Most people say, “Don’t!”

Or, “Only if the light is Red!”

But others say it is possible under certain circumstances.

Bonnie’s Advice:
Put two pillows on your lap, and wedge them between you and the dash board, to create a type of table and shock absorber.
Use a “lap desk” that has ridges around it. Lay fleece on it.
If also using dishes or containers, put fleece in each one, as well. The fleece “holds the beads”. Regular material does not work.
The pillows absorb a lot of the bumps.
Don’t put too many beads out at a time.
For bead stringing, use long bracelet gift boxes, or something with a deep groove in it.
You can also take a piece of fleece and put it OVER your beadwork as you’re working. Or you can put your beadwork into a ziplock sandwich bag, and work on it at the opening of the bag.

Vera’s Advice:
Put beads in a fleece-lined Frisbee.
Have a towel folded up on you on the other side of the console to cushion the frisbee, so it doesn’t move.

Kathleen’s Advice:
As the passenger, for bead crochet: Real easy. Use a tray lined with fleece. Pray to God you don’t hit bumps and stuff.

Pullencreek:
It is not easy beading in a car as a passenger but it can be done if you are persistent and determined. I use a shoebox lid with soft suede underneath my beadwork but it is difficult to thread while riding down the road.

Satine:
Definitely NOPT while you are driving! LOL