When I'm looking for something fresh to do with my beads, there are a few places where I'll start looking for new and creative ideas.
Getting Into a New Frame of Mind
Sometimes, the best thing to do is just put the beads down and walk away for a little while. Take a walk, make a pot of soup, go for a bike ride or a swim, or just do anything that is not bead-related. You may just be going through a patch of "Beader's Block" and getting away from things for a while can help open you up to new ideas.
Museums
Museums have long been one of my best and favorite sources for inspiration in my beadwork. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is always a favorite place for me to spend the day. Just being surrounded with all sorts of art - not just paintings and two-dimensional works - is enough to make my brain pop with ideas for color, textures and forms. And on my visits to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California and the Getty Villa in Malibu, California, my sketchbook was always near at hand.
Even though I don't live in close proximity to any museum nearly as grand as the Met, there are lots of wonderful small art and "living history" museums near my home. These are also a great way for you to find some new ideas.
And if you can't travel to a museum, not to worry - many of these museums now have wonderful web sites where you can browse some of their most popular and beautiful artifacts and collections from your own home.
Some examples of ideas that have come from my museum visits:
- An exhibit of 13th century illuminated manuscripts at the Getty Museum inspired me to create a three-dimensional beaded "demon", complete with fangs and a glittering crown.
- The amazing Collection of Dutch Masters at the same museum resulted in a beautiful soft jewel-toned lariat that reflected the colors of a piece of clothing from a painting's subject.
- Paisley and baroque patterned tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City were the inspiration for a series of peyote and brick stitched amulet bags, complete with lavish gold fringe.
- One of the local history museums had an exhibit of 19th-century costume that inspired me to create a series of bracelets and earrings after the beautiful laces that embellished the women's dresses.
Nature
Looking at your natural surroundings has been an incredible source of ideas for many well-known glass and beadwork artists. The beauty and variety and colors of flowers, animals, fish and landscapes is enough to provide an unlimited number of ideas.
Living in the mountains where I do, I feel lucky that I have this incredible resource right out my window every day. Some of the great examples that have come from my contact with nature:
- A photo of deer taken in the backyard resulted in a stunning color palette for a herringbone collar that was subsequently published by Beadwork Magazine.
- While brainstorming patterns and colors for fringe on a bead embroidered collar, a trip to the chicken coop gave me the idea for a combination of bamboo and seed beads that mimicked the texture and patterns of the chicken feathers.
- While canoeing on a river, I noticed the colors and the textures of the birch trees that lined the banks. A few nights later, I completed a necklace out of herringbone tubes in shades of off-white, grey and brown with Labradorite cabochons that had branches just like the trees.
- And of course, there's always the wildflowers that grow in my backyard! Their colors in the spring and summer have inspired many a bright and beautiful pair of earrings.
Books
I've always been an avid reader, and turning to my favorite books has always been a great way for me to come up with new ideas for my beads and jewelry. Among the books that line my shelves are old science textbooks from college along with local history stories, science fiction authors and classic poetry. Reading has a way of putting a spark into my beadwork:
- A local history story about an unsolved disappearance on one of the nearby lakes inspired a wonderful bead embroidery piece called "Lady in the Lake", complete with a ceramic face and wool and fiber "hair".
- I've very often read some of the great classics by Jane Austen and Anton Chekhov and been inspired to create pieces of jewelry that would grace my favorite characters.
- Science fiction shows like Star Trek and books by authors like Isaac Asimov and J. R. R. Tolkien inspired me to design a line of beadwoven and bead embroidered jewelry for sale at science fiction conventions around the country.
So the next time you want to put a new spin on your beads and beadwork, look around. There is inspiration to be had everywhere!