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.|

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Truth Even Unto Its Innermost Parts
Announcing our Next Contest….

Master beader / “masterbater”

Former Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis once said that to know ‘truth’, you must know “truth even unto its innermost parts”. To paraphrase that, to know ‘beadwork’, you must know “beadwork even unto its innermost parts.” Those parts include the bead itself as a medium for art, the interplay of light and shadow, the selection of various sizes, shapes, colors and textures of elements, their positioning in balanced and harmonious ways. To appreciate Beading as an art form, to appreciate the creative essence and beauty within a beaded piece, you must know beadwork even unto its innermost parts.

The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts helps guide you in your journey to seek the truth in beading. CBJA classes begin to help you learn the basics of fine craft and art, and integrate these within the design of your pieces. In honor of Justice Brandeis’ insights into our world, we present you with our next puzzle competition – an Anagram.