Following on from my previous blogs:

The 4th question I was asked was:
"Did you find your style immediately or did it develop over time?"

My answer:
I think my style has developed over a long time and is constantly changing. I now think my style isn’t so much what my finished work looks like but more how I get there.

I am predominantly known now for my geometric series of beadwork and this is what I have mainly been beading for the last couple of years but also in that time I have done many different things which I think are very much my style- but look nothing like my geometric work!

I do think that you have to work in a way that suits you or you will find it hard.

I recently beaded a piece that didn't feel right to me but, because of time and bead constraints, I persevered with it. The result was a piece of work that I hated making, took many, many hours longer than it should have because of me constantly making mistakes (really bad, stupid mistakes which I should never have made and don't usually do) and that when I look at I have no love for. I love the idea and the potential of it but that piece I can only look at and see the time and struggle (I need to put it away for a few weeks and play with the idea so I will like it when I see it again)

If I had been true to my style I would have played and let the piece develop. It probably would have ended up looking exactly the same but I discovered that my style was to let a piece grow and change as I worked on it. So my style isn't so much the end result but how I get there.

This has developed over time as I have more and more experience and knowledge about how work will turn out and also trust my instincts more so let something develop. Again this comes from having to put in the hours to get the end result.

On a beady note:
I'm still staying at Bruisyard Hall beading with Jill Devon from The Bead Merchant.

I have finished my bracelet and have moved back onto my own beadwork. What I'm working on is another new idea based on my geometric series but taking it in a new, glitzier direction. I have been working on these new projects for a long while now and now that they're done I just need to work on the instructions and unleash them on the world! Sign up for my newsletter if you want to be kept updated on their appearance.