Full steam ahead...

Why this renewed burst of beading energy?  I'm first to admit that my interest in beading had waned.  Contented to hammer away in my metals studio and work with polymer clay and resin, I hadn't picked up needle and thread in months.  It had been well over a year since I had designed and written one of my step-by-step beading tutorials.  You may ponder why someone once so prolific a beader ceased to produce any beadwork at all and is now suddenly beading like one possessed.  I can sum up the answer in two words: Geometric Beadwork!  I had ordered Kate McKinnon's book, "Contemporary Geometric Beadwork", what seems like eons ago (it did have a lengthy gestation, but will be released any day now).  Thankfully, Kate offered pre-release pages from the book to those who had pre-ordered and supported the project.  Those pages opened up a new "bead world" for me.  I should add that the book is nothing like the many ubiquitous tomes that contain a slew of "how to make" projects. Rather it is bursting with great ideas for beaded designs that serve as a springboard for one's own creativity. I dived in and began to produce pieces of substance and dimension - forms that seem to take on a life and energy of their own!  And what surprises me most is that I'm creating intricate pattern-work within these forms, finely detailed designs that beg for scrutiny.  Having employed a myriad of textural bead types in previously bead woven pieces, I'm now enjoying the simplicity and smoothness of cylinder beads, which support the bodies of three-dimensional forms and allow the pattern-work within to be a star attraction.  Inspired by the  Sea Serpent in Kate's book, I'm presently working on a fanciful winged Dragon bracelet that will wrap thrice around the wrist. I can truly say that I'm loving every moment of this beading adventure!