Why So Different?

   I guess like most bead makers and other artisans I often get correspondence from customers, most consisting of kind words about my beads, others asking questions about the way I work etc. One common question asked is why I love making such unique and in many cases strange bead designs, why don't I just make all the normal shapes like others, round, tyre, cushions, lentil etc etc, so for those who are new to my blog and new to my beads I'll try to explain the reasons.
   From a young child I was always a touch different in the things I did, I loved drawing and designing with the old felt tip pens we used back then, I would come up with strange patterns and carried on doing so through my school days, finally getting good results in art exams. Even in my adult years when hard landscaping my patio or walling ideas were very different and I was always looking to incorporate quirky little features, so I guess when I started making beads I was never going to be happy following the trends as such.
   Over the years I've seen literally hundreds of new bead makers appear, some of which only stay in the craft a year or so, others who end up making a living from their work as I do, but in nearly ever case I see the same old beads being made. With the many bead groups and forums that now exist it's so easy for people to just reproduce what others make and that's just not the way I work, yes we all make tyre beads or pressed beads in different shapes, but to do this all the time without exploring the different would drive me crazy. To me the glass and the flame can produce some stunning effects on their own, far more than I could by placing dots etc in certain places, the crackles, rock effects and swirls produced by the flame are natural, it's like they produce magic and all I'm doing is helping them, so often I have made beads but had no idea what they would look like until they are removed from the kiln the next morning and that feeling is unique. If somebody makes a simple bead and places frit or dots upon it, they will have a good idea how it will end up, but me, well I'd rather not know, I'd rather experiment and that includes spending hours trying new forms other than the usual ones.

   So I guess all in all I just want to be different, I love to lock myself away in my studio and play, not knowing from one day to the next what I'll produce, yes I'll always have to reproduce some beads for customers and of course beads like spacers, but I'll always be pushing at the boundary as in how odd and different my beads can be, I just hope customers will find ways of using them.