An eclectic blog about beads, beading and beyond



Friday, December 2, 2011

A musical treasury, the Great Bead Tidy and musings on the music of beading

As always I was delighted to have one of my beadworks included in an Etsy Treasury this week. It was curated by Leva Krustina and you can view it at this link:


It included my Annotations beadweaving bracelet pattern:


Viewing the Treasury I mused on the place of music in beadwork. One Google search later I had uncovered a 2008 poll by Beading Daily that had found in a poll of 1000 beaders that 74% percent bead while listening to music! 27% bead to rock music, 24% to classical music and 17% bead to pop music. Poll participants said that they bead to music because it helps them to:

  • feel less lonely
  • pace their work
  • drown out their "inner critic"
  • create and be inspired

Some beaders also find music inspires their design work. My Annotations bracelet designs are a case in point. Here's the latest just listed:

Annotations 2 peyote graph pattern


For other beaders, beading is an expression of their own inner music. For instance, Ukrainian beader Alexandra Sydorenko writes ‘my song is embedded in beads’. In a twist on this relationship between beading and music, ome musicians are also inspired by beadwork. I found two recent albums featuring beadwork in their titles. The first was Bead Songs by Andy Wasserman (TransMedia Sound Music). The album is described as “acoustic instrumental collection of original compositions for the Native American flute, featuring solo and ensemble arrangements in both traditional and contemporary styles” and features a pair of traditional Native American beaded slippers on its cover (see image). The second was, Beading the Rook, by Fence Kitchen (Northeast Indie; 2006). It  is described as a combination of jazz, chamber music and modern dance score. Unfortunately, this album cover didn’t feature any wonderful beadwork. In my search I also stumbled across a famous Australian composer - Percy Grainger (1882 – 1961) who collected beadwork.

The other way for me in which beading and music come together is in the Great Bead Tidy. I have just finished one and bouncy music was present right the way through. In the Great Bead Tidy I furiously sort beads, put away stray beads from past projects and any newly arrived beads and in the process generally totally re-organise my bead storage area. In a very Great Bead Tidy I unpick UFOs that are clearly beyond revival and reorder samples and inspirations for future projects. Little can divert me from the Great Bead Tidy when the mood hits. It often advances with music booming that suits my frenzied tidying mood. In this weekend’s Great Bead Tidy the rockabilly of Carl Perkins kept me company through the deepest part of the tidy – that point at which the tidy is deeply untidy and it seems I will never surface from it! The deeper the untidy, the louder and more robust I seem to need the music to be. Paula Morgan calls this music her ‘wild-side’ music.

Love to hear if and how music and beading go together in your life - what is your 'wild-side' music? Thanks to Leva for inspiring some musings about their relationship in my own beading life. Annotations to all….


Sources

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