Epic Projects

One of the running jokes around the Beadalon office is how many unfinished projects I have laying around on my desk. Don’t get me wrong, I like an instant gratification project as much as the next gal, but I also like undertaking what I call “Epic Projects": those complex, complicated designs that sometimes take years to finish. I like having ongoing, open-ended designs. More often than not, they involve seed beads. And more often than not, they go through many, many iterations before they reach their final state. They offer me opportunities to learn a new way of doing something, and challenge me to be truly creative.

This helix spiral necklace has been a work in progress for over two years. It was originally a test piece to see how much abuse WildFire™ Beading Thread could take. (Result: a lot of abuse – it holds up great to the sharp edges of the bugle beads and crystals). It’s been made, remade, and used in a number of different ways before I finally figured out how I wanted to finish it. As you can see, I’m still not sold on the clasp design that I came up with.

I’m always a little sad when I come to the end of these projects, and I’ll hold on for just a little longer before I attach a clasp, or cut the last bit of thread. Luckily, there’s usually another epic project right next to it for me to obsess about for a few more weeks.

Do you have any epic projects that you’re working on? I’d love to know I’m not the only one!

- Meredith Roddy