Be supportive of fellow artists, they are just like you- creating with love.
Image: prettythingsblog.com
Today I would like to highlight the efforts of those working with artist Lori Anderson from her Bead Soup Bead Challenge. There should be a message to this madness and it could be to BE CALM and LOVE JEWELRY, while taking part in a beading challenge. Ready? Set? Bring on the beads!
I have had my share of taking part in beading challenges. Some situations were formal and some projects were casual. The main characteristic known within a beading challenge is that there is an organizational factor associated with the challenge and there is a level of commitment that is demanded to take part in a beading challenge. Beading challenges allow you to reach deep within and try your best with what is on hand or work within a box of limited creativity to the fullest.
If you have decided to dedicate your efforts to a challenge of any type dealing with creativity, take a few deep breaths and dive right into the creative building phase. Use the opportunity to express your creativity and build to new heights.
My latest challenge dealing with beading is going to be an interesting one. Two artists who are creating hand-made beads are paired together and are asked to exchange beads and create using them. The person who as founded this has been offering this opportunity for seven years. She is seemingly extremely organized and has a great system for getting from point A to point B. This is one reason that I was drawn to take part in her beading challenge. She recently sent me an e-mail and explained what she was up against in her beginning stages of setting up our beading partners. I give nothing but credit to her and her husband for dedicating their time and love of beading to bring others together in the same love of beads.
1) Visit Blogs. Lori takes time to look at all of our blogs because some are just contest entry blogs and that is not in our interests. Some of our blogs weren’t entered correctly and she had to physically find them. She takes steps to do this to insure that we are paired with someone who doesn’t work in too similar styles. She uses a spreadsheet to track what each person works with in their beading, and finds that out by visiting all of our blogs.
2) Highlight Participant List. There are 142 international people taking part in this year’s challenge. Many are in Canada and the UK, but she reports that there are some from Bahrain, France, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland, among a few other places. Her system involves matching bead artists who have requested to be paired within certain areas or other needs. There are three separate “reveal dates” that the artists get to chose from for their projects. So, knowing that date is another aspect that she pairs us with the best she can. Those who have indicated that they have no preference to their reveal are probably her instant friends (Smile). Her husband on a second computer helps at this point and together they work out the pairing.
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| Last year’s Party. |
It is said that she normally gives herself a week to complete this task but, I know that there are many more sleepless nights and excitement associated with the planning of this event. Lori has started her seventh challenge and I look forward to taking part in my first challenge with her at the helm. She is busy using her organizational skills in a creative way for many. Cheers to Lori today as she carries on in her efforts at http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2013/01/sign-ups-are-open-for-7th-bead-soup.html.
To keep track of how I am fairing with this challenge be sure to check back on this blog and keep up with posts on the progress on the Club Creative Studio Facebook page at
Club Creative Studio 
I totally agree, Lori has got this down! I thought about offering a similar yet different type of challenge and I am second guessing how it may grow in size at any point. I know for sure that I could not rope my husband into helping sort entries out. Stay tuned in you are interested in learning about my adventure in the challenge. 🙂
Wow, this is impressive! I have been challenged to a ‘bead off’ and to organise just two of us and post the result has taken us ages. This takes it to a whole new level!