The Bead Project
- Neha Gopinath Pillai
- Jun 15, 2021
- 3 min read
How it all started?
Boredom was getting to me. Nothing new, it happens from time to time but if I let it sink in, sulking and complaining becomes my new pastime. This is followed by long talks on walks with my husband where he does his best to make it all better, helping me strategize and plan my days to be more productive going forward. Feeling pumped, I get back to my work table, stare at clay, take some in my hand, looking out the window procrastinating and roll that ball of clay around till it gets dry! Nothing comes to mind. I am blank. Blank as a flat smooth slab of clay. Endless possibilities & I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to create. Slept over it, swearing to return to it the next day.
Clay has been an everyday thing for me for a very long time now. Monotonous you say - A big yes. Initial years can be exciting, then it becomes work. Diligent, dutiful work. Don't take me wrong, I love working with clay but like any other profession, this one too needs a challenge, if not everyday, atleast once in a while. I have high regard for those artists who are able to keep their work interesting inspite of several years of experience behind them. A quality I personally would love to develop. I am one of those lucky people who gets to work in their field of interest so I know it mustn't be taken for granted. With these thoughts vividly in my head, I decide to revisit clay the next morning:)
My work keeps me active on social media, not so much on the personal front & I prefer being that way. I upload mostly videos & images on my Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook pages & ofcourse videos on my YouTube channel. Hashtags aren't new to me. I use them everyday probably with every post. They are an easy way to find information on a specific content and symbolically represented with a hash symbol "#" followed by the word or theme you are looking to find information on. This led me to thinking on themes in my line of work and that's how I came up with #30days30beads. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? It's easy to remember and explains the entire project in one tag.
I had an idea, a really good one and it was time to get to work. I also wanted to design this for my YouTube channel viewers. But I wasn't sure if people would be interested in seeing 30 days of just beads! But hellbent on going forward, I started making them one by one. Handmaking each of them, without a cookie cutter, using a few tools and creating designs I have never made before! Till about bead 13 or 14, the designs came to me more naturally, but after that I had to think, think hard. I drew rough images, looked at my tools and tried to visualize the patterns or textures I could make from them. But I was enjoying it, thoroughly. So engrossed in making, I didn't even name them! Starting from shapes that are oblong, round, oval, bird, owl, fish, hexagon, cylindrical, semi circular, square, faceted, abstract and many many more...Phew!
Little nuggets of clay turned into these beautiful designer beads that can used as earrings, necklaces, chokers, bracelets, accents in wall pieces/home décor! Just thinking of the possibilities was driving me crazy with excitement. I had fulfilled the task I had taken upon myself. I had done well :) Sounding proud, heck I am proud of every design I made! This was purely a "me" project and never lost focus of that. I wasn't making this for someone else but me! Another 30 you say, I am ready! But for now, I can't wait to start on a different project!
To view my work #30days30beads you can look up these links:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/paintedearthbyneha
Instagram: @paintedearthbyneha
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/mypaintedearth
You could also hear this episode on my podcast: https://anchor.fm/neha-gopinath-pillai/episodes/The-Bead-Project-e136q71
Neha Gopinath Pillai
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