On Making Time to Dream

I celebrated the holidays with my kids this weekend, as they’ll each be out of town next week. I have to tell you, it was lovely. Oh, we don’t go overboard… We exchange a few gifts and then choose a different cuisine each year to enjoy (this year was Ecuadorian). But mostly, we put our phones away and just be with each other in front of a roaring fire, dreaming about the year to come. That’s the best gift of all!

So this morning as I write to you, I’m rubbing my tummy from too many empanadas, wriggling my toes in the fuzzy socks I received from my children, and nestling into some serious gratitude. I’m grateful for a warm home, loving kids, enough food on the table, and the space and time to dream.

Making time to dream is at the heart of creativity. Not only is the quiet essential for your brain to be able to wander to a more expansive place, it really is the only way it can engage in creative problem-solving. And, for many of us designers, we spend a LOT of time problem-solving with our beads.

It’s in these quiet spaces that I also find it helpful to be inspired by other artists’ work. You don’t grow very well in a vacuum! By learning the ways others solve their design challenges, you open yourself to wider avenues so you can crack your own riddles. I constantly pore through beading books, videos, and magazine articles to do this. Here are a few of the products that I’ve been inspired by lately:

Explorations in Beadweaving. This wonderful book by Kelly Angeley is an enlightening vision into all of the basic stitches–peyote stitch, brick stitch, right-angle weave, and more. Kelly adds her twist by showing how to use all the stitches in conjunction, letting them dance together through layering and freeform techniques. A great dream-inspired book!

Bead Stitching Pentagons. In stark contrast to Kelly’s Angeley’s book, I’ve been watching this DVD by Jean Power to explore the possibilities of architectural, precise, and prescribed patterns to build exacting shapes. Jean is an amazing builder of forms, and I love the clean, modern outcomes of her designs.

Kumihimo Ultimate Collection. Part of the benefit of giving yourself to dream is that you’ll probably learn something new, too! That’s why I’ve embarked on learning and mastering kumihimo. This collection has been a great way to start.

How do you make time to dream? Where do you find your inspiration? We’d love to hear from you on the BeadingDaily.com blog.

Happy beading-

Jean Cox, Beading editorial director