T-Minus 14 Days and Counting...

I finished the last two "components" for my Battle of the Beadsmith piece yesterday, and then I went on Facebook and saw that Steven Weiss (the organizer of the competition) had posted something about there being fifteen days left to complete our pieces... So I had a minor freak-out.

Really, I think the hard part of the piece is finished. These "components" (I'm only calling them that because I'm really not sure what else to call them) were fun to design, and required constant experimentation and adjustment as I was making them. There are eleven in all, and that's all I can tell you.

Now comes the hard part - the "filling in between" part. That's always the hardest part for me. I'm so good at coming up with the Main Event, the Focal Point, the Centerpiece. But when it comes to filling in the background, I just choke. Maybe that's why I was never very good at Zentangling. (Or it could be why I need to start doing more Zentangling.)

At any rate, I'm not allowed to show you and progress pictures, but I am taking them as I go. I could show you pictures of the empty bead tubes that are piling up on my desk. Or the piles of thread scraps that are piling up on the floor next to my chair. Or the bandages that I think are going to be a permanent part of four fingers on my right hand where I've been pulling on the Wildfire beading thread to keep my tension consistent as I bead.

But you probably wouldn't be very interested in seeing those things.

That said, once this piece is made public, I have big plans for it. Regardless of when I get knocked out of the Battle of the Beadsmith (because I *will* get knocked out, make no mistake), I will have a ready-made piece for the annual Lake Placid Center for the Arts Juried Show in September. And I'll be able to wear this piece to Bead Fest Philadelphia in August, provided I can find the right t-shirt to go with it. Last of all, I'll be writing up a new series of tutorials and projects on this technique, since I don't think I've ever seen it done before. I'm not even sure if anyone will be interested in it, but it's certainly got a lot of possibilities!

For now, I'll leave you with a photograph of the peonies that Tom brought home for me tonight from work. That's something I CAN show you!