An Artist’s Thirst for Learning
By Cynthia Machata
One of the things that I truly enjoy about writing for Bead Chat Magazine is
getting to talk to artists and learn more about their creative journey. I was
able to interview Therese Frank this time around and to ask her what got her
started bead weaving such intricate patterns, and what are the techniques
that continue to inspire her?
Therese told me that it all started about 10 years ago when she saw a necklace in a magazine and thought “I can make this, and so I did.” It always
amazes me how many artists tell me exactly this same story, but it is those
that keep pushing themselves into new territory that really blossom with
their own style. Therese is one of those artists.
Her journey started simply with stringing beads. She says “it wasn’t until I
stumbled onto Beadwork Magazine that I discovered off loom bead weaving
and became an admirer of all the beautiful items that could be made with
seed beads.” Therese said that she first joined Beading Daily Forum where
she learned about bead weaving saying “all the different stitches and techniques were fascinating to me.”
“I mostly taught myself bead weaving, but I took a couple of classes to learn
Spiral Rope and Herringbone.” She went on saying, “in the beginning following a pattern was frustrating as heck for me, but I stuck with it and pushed
myself to finish the piece.” She that “most everything I have done in my
lifetime as a crafter and artisan has been self-taught from books on the subjects. I took a few bead weaving classes because I just could not grasp the
technique of the stitch.”
That is hard to believe when you see the bead work that Therese is doing
today. She beads complex ropes with ease and says that one of her favorites
is Cellini spiral. “This stitch gave me fits when I was first learning it, but once
the light bulb turned on in my head, it has been one of my favorite “go to”
stitches. There are so many different outcomes with this stitch; it is never
boring.”
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