done!

four hours on sunday and an hour or so on saturday and i finished the beady*.

finally. also, yay!

 i am looking forward to some other pastimes that do not leave my eyes, shoulders and back sore and exhausted. but overall, putting myself through that (for the second time...heh) was worth it, and since you're probably wondering why i would bother with such a weird project, now might be a good time to provide some answers:

1) it is shiny. i love shiny things.

2) as an artist, i am fascinated by the relationship between order and chaos. a lot of my work features imagery that seems chaotic from a distance, but is actually extremely (obsessively?) and, i hope, elegantly organized and controlled when viewed close up. some work conveys that back-and-forth relationship multiple times: orderly when viewed close up, then chaotic from a slight distance, and then orderly again from a greater distance. in this case, the patterns of the beads seem pretty chaotic, but each bead had to be individually sewn onto the canvas, which takes a lot of meticulous, patient work. in my own life (specifically during my high school years), i have experienced ordeals that seemed completely out of (my) control, but i know that god has everything under control; now that some time has passed, god has been showing me just how in control of those circumstances he was. i find that beautiful.

3) i find interactions and relationships between people fascinating as well. having moved around as a child, i am thrilled when i meet people with a connection to a place i have lived. this became especially important after moving three thousand miles across the country to go to college, and i reflected this in my art with abstract imagery that suggested interconnectedness- weaving together, working together, or branching apart. the beady is full of shapes that are connected to other shapes, whether linked together by color or line, or by variations in pattern. while at school, meeting people from moscow (idaho), or towns near potsdam (new york) instilled the "small world" perspective in me, and by extension, though it's been beaten to death, the idea that we are all connected. and god has a beautiful plan for it all, which is another reason i strive for beauty in my work.

and there you have it. :)

*if anyone can think of a more elegant term, i would be much obliged.