Each morning I am in the studio the morning often begins with a question, “to bead, or not to bead…?”.
Whilst my making and form exploration has been happening on many projects this year, simultaneously, I have been working on an idea that has been bubbling away in between all the other work. From found and scavenged timber scraps I created a collection of bead-like forms. Each bead is based on the same dimensions and design. Although comparatively similar, each bead is as individual as the timber that they were made from. The collection displays the range of incredible colours and tones of the timbers: reds, maroons, browns, yellows, creams, greys, blacks. The beads also feature natural details of bark, heart wood, cracks, grooves, and tunnels from insects.
To tell the truth, I am not quite sure how it all came about. I had timber scraps that I wasn’t sure what to do with, so I began playing with shapes. I was inspired by the Masterworks Gallery exhibition ‘Bead Up’, that I was a part of earlier this year. It was a catalyst of thinking about the early human inclination to adorn oneself. The trace evidence of this are often beads. So when I was unsure of a path forward, I made beads, not knowing where they would take me.
I am now coming to realise that in one sense the beads are a map, of sorts, of the places that I had been to this year. Each place I visit I keep my eyes open for potential pieces of useful timber fragments as I walk. Thus far, the timber has been gathered from beaches, river banks, parks and curbsides to name a few. When found, the chosen pieces return home with me to my studio. Many have been sitting in their box for the best part of 6 months, waiting to be chosen.
For me the beads represent footprints, tracks, traces, markers, counters, seeds, bouys, etc… They are not one thing. They often change each time I revisit the collection and continue my bead making. Still, I do not have an ultimate outcome in mind beyond the beads being threaded. The exercise of bead making is a wonderful project to work on when I am not sure what to do in the studio. It gets me making and thinking as the bead numbers grow, without being bogged down with an end object in mind.
So this morning I ask myself, “to bead or not to bead?”
