August Beaded Journal Page

6" x 8"

Continuing on with my "Inspired By Horses" theme, my August page incorporates a beaded bucking horse that has been languishing in a drawer since I made it in October, 2000. This is not just any old unfinished piece, it's the first beadwork I ever did!

I launched into beading based on a photo I saw in a western style magazine in the fall of 2000. It was a bead embroidered bucking horse and I did not know how it was done, but I jumped on the internet to find out. I discovered these little beads were called seed beads. Honestly, I didn't know anything about beads! I ended up ordering my first seed beads online and was so excited when they arrived.

I learned how to do backstitch from a bead book I bought, and my first beaded piece was this bucking horse on ultrasuede. I planned to appliqué the finished beadwork onto a leather vest I was going to make. I never did make the vest, I instead started working on other beading ideas for Christmas presents that year.

So the beaded bucking horse on ultrasuede got put aside for seven years but now has a home as the August page in my Bead Journal Project. As I look at it today, I realize how far I have come in my ability to bead embroider and plan how the design is going to come out. With figural subjects, I now outline the design first, then fill in with beads row by rows. In this first piece, I did not outline first, and ended up losing control of how I wanted it to look.

When I started this BJP, I wanted to try to use beads and fabric I already own, and not run out and buy more stuff. Some of the other BJP participants are doing this, too. Though the rest of the year's worth of BJP pages are likely to be original, I am happy I was able to pluck a forgotten piece out of the drawer and breathe new life into it.

Please stop by my art blog, carengoodrich.com, and vote in the "what's your favorite horse color" poll I have posted. The results will affect a future BJP piece.