Overcoming Beader's Block

 

 

Beads are one of the most versatile and creative materials you'll ever
work with and there's so MUCH that you can do with them! I'm
sure you'll be excited when you see all of the wonderful ideas
my employees and I are going to show you. By the way, you're
going to love our employees who can be credited with many of
the ideas you'll find here. I'll introduce you to each of them in
good time. We have also have fantastic customers who are
always giving us new ideas. Me? I'm Kristie, half owner of Beads
Indeed. The other half is owned by my mother who you'll also be
introduced to in the future.

What is "beader's block" ? Well, just as a writer sometimes gets "
writer's block", a beader can most definitely encounter a similar
phenomenon we'll call "beader's block". Suddenly, try as you may,
you can't come up with a unique or original idea to use in your bead
work. We'll be dealing with this topic frequently in the future so let's
introduce it briefly here.

Instead of boring you with what causes beader's block, after all this
is not a psychology forum (although this was one of my majors in
college) Let's see if we can come up with some solutions to help you
through those beading dry spells.

 

First, you need to get organized. Open all of your bead drawers,
storage containers etc. and start organizing your beads into
categories. All of those lose beads lying around need to be put into
containers, preferably clear ones so you can see what you have.
This exercise serves two purposes. It helps to eliminate
disorganization and confusion which is a strong contributor to
beader's block. When you're confused and your thoughts are pulled
in too many directions, you can't come up with new ideas. Secondly,
you're going to see exactly what beads you have to work with which
will spark new thoughts and ideas. While you're busy organizing,
your brain is processing all of those shapes and colors for use in
building new ideas. Believe me , this works if you follow through on
it!

Once you've organized your beads into containers and reshelved
them, take the rest of the day off. Time for a little R & R. :-)
Now that you're organized, it's time to take a 1 day break from
beading. All of the information your brain has gained from the first
part of this exercise, needs to be processed before future action is
taken. Use this time to do something you've never done before. Take
a walk through a new neighborhood, visit a new store, read about a
new cuisine, learn a few yoga exercises, write to a friend you
haven't heard from in a long time. In other words, give your mind
permission to freely wander for a period of time. When you return to
your work, your mind will be programmed to look for new pathways
and options which will start a fresh flow of ideas for you. You're
essentially "detoxifying" your brain and eliminating stale ideas and
garbage that can prevent new idea pathways from forming. Enjoy
this step! It will work wonders for you both mentally and physically.

Next, gather together beading magazines, bead books, lists of your
favorite retail stores, as well as jewelry and bead photos. On this
day, you're going to spend time in relaxation mode, looking at these
resources from a fresh, new perspective. Get out your books and
magazines, find a comfy chair, and peruse their pages while drinking
your favorite coffee or tea. Don't try to analyze the designs, but if
you see something that interests you on an emotional level, mark
that particular page for future reference. It's important for you not to
work too hard at this step since that can be counterproductive.
Relax and let your mind freely enjoy the designs as you would enjoy
a beautiful painting at an art gallery.

Now, go and visit a few bead, jewelry, and clothing stores. Again,
you're going for fun and relaxation. This is not supposed to be work!
Look at the designs and take note of any that particularly move you.
Do you see new color combinations, designs, and ideas that aren't
familiar to you? Let you mind process these combinations in a
relaxed manner. Finally, go home and rest for the remainder of the
day as you'll be returning to your hobby tomorrow morning.
We're almost through! You've almost conquered your first case of
beader's block"! It's a new day and you should feel relaxed and
ready to reapproach your beading hobby or business.

Get out your beads and arrange them on the table in a random manner.
What do you see? As with the previous exercise, does anything strike
you on an emotion level? Take note of this. Give yourself permission
to try ANYTHING here. No censoring allowed! The ideas should start to
flow at this point. It's a good idea to write down your ideas on a
notepad for future reference. This is better than trying to remember
them which can cause more brain disorganization and fuel further
bouts of beader's block.

Congratulations, you've just overcome your first case of "beader's
block". This is by no means the only pathway to overcoming this
problem, but it has certainly worked for me. I'd love to have
feedback regarding your success with it!