come on in

After a small Father's Day feast this morning - just Rick and me, and fresh whole wheat biscuits and scrambled eggs - I ran for the kiln to see what new hatchlings waited for me. The new Chaos Pendants were still talking to me yesterday, so I made a few more. I have to take the studio apart now, but at least I have some idea of where to pick things up creatively once we get going. These new things are noisy in my head. I can't ignore them, and I can't really take credit for them. I'm just following and allowing them to do what they want. If there's such a thing a "bead channeling", I think that's what I'm doing. I've felt that way about other designs over the years. The Lotus mostly, but also a few others. But with most of those, I felt the need to pack as much as possible into the beads. That was probably Ego talking, saying, Look at me! See what I can do, do, do! It's hard to hush that voice, especially when you're trying to get noticed. These days I'm not at all interested in making jam-packed, technically difficult beads. My new focus is on making very simple things that still make my heart sing. Like the Zen Enso paintings, just humble, simple circles that speak volumes. That's what I'm after. Clean design. Simple techniques. Knock-out results. It fits well with the way I'm trying to live my life, clean and simple, as uncomplicated as possible, and still beautiful and meaningful. It's a tricky balance, a work in progress.

The new beads make me happy. The goal is simplicity, but the result is anything but. I'll admit though, these are not hard to make. Everything I put in them is easy. The hard part is leaving things out. Here are pictures of my new favorite. I'm wearing it on a on chain, so I can look at it often and remember what I did right in it. I love the way it flows inward and outward, revealing new things each time I look. You can click these pics to go to full screen, and wander inside...