This last week has been crazy-busy as I’ve been preparing to give a presentation to the Bead Society of Greater Chicago. I drove down last night after work and spent some time with their beaders talking about design and how really knowing the basics allows you to be more creative and get better finished pieces.

I had a hard time narrowing down one topic to talk about. Originally, I was going to go “three miles wide and an inch deep” and go through 50 tips for better beading. But the more I worked on the presentation, the more I realized that everything was leading back to the basic premise that to create your best work you need to know the basics. Not just basic design concepts, like line, shape and movement, but the basics of your tools, materials and techniques and actually consciously choose how you’re using all these elements.

Of course, in the end, I ended up talking about publishing designs, working on a magazine, and copyright. Maybe next time I’ll plan to start there!