As a mostly self-taught beader, I cringe at the thought of what a traditional beader would say about my work. I have learned several techniques through workshops and books but I tend to go back to my old way of just adding beads until it all “fits”. It’s a good thing nobody sees the back of my felt in my finished work! While some will say that it’s the product that matters, for me, it is the process that I value most. The challenge of overcoming not only the physical challenges but the emotional ones as well. We are so conditioned to compare ourselves to others rather than acknowledging our own growth and journey. You never know what lies beneath someone else’s beadwork. On the surface it may be straight and even but it could be a tangled mess underneath.
