Indelible? - Maybe

The ISGB is having a juried show this year with the theme “Indelible”. I’ve been brain bantering that about and conceiving a piece I might create and submit by the deadline. Deadlines are not an easy task for me. For me – more often than I would like to admit – once the piece has been created in my head or conceptualized on paper it’s done for me. I’ve even gone as far as assembling the various pieces together and laying them out…then phffffftttttt – it’s over. It goes into a plastic bag with the drawing and becomes a UFO (unfinished object). The thought and solution for that thought was the end. I need minions….lots of minions.

Am I going to get one….let’s see, DH is asleep in a recliner, one dog on the couch, in a dog bed, on the kitchen floor. My possible minions are not of this waking world at the moment. Minion count – ZERO. Pisses me off…….really…….how can they sleep when I am thinking so loudly is beyond me. Really! Maybe I need an intern – but where would I find one that is as anal as I am and who could follow directions written only in my subconscious. So not likely in this millennia!

By ‘Indelible” the ISGB means those things which have transpired in your life and etched a moment that is so totally recallable that it is, indelible.

I tried to think of a moment that collided with my brain with an impact I couldn’t shake it. The normal things came up children – marriage – divorce – family – life. What happened is I couldn’t’ separate a piece from the whole. Maybe if I were in my twenties again I could; but alas, I am not. What did pop out was the fact I am the sum of my pieces. If any one thing were subtracted from the equation that is me then it would alter the outcome of this moment. Profound? (LOL) No one is going to accuse me of that.

I’ve started to think of the theme as the pieces of my life. That concept led me to my jewelry boxes. It’s kind of a microcosm of all things Sharon. The crow in me has keepsakes that are shiny only to me. I pulled them out from all manner of places I’ve hidden them. Laid out they form an interesting beginning of a mixed media necklace. Some pieces are extremely self explanatory – others may not be – and there is much more to add. I have “hippie beads” which could tie the many pieces into a solid unit.


There also a requirement for handmade lampwork beads – it is the International Society of Glass Beadmakers after all. There in; for the moment, lies my rub. Uh, aside from the fact I have no minions. I’ve never had a particular “style” of bead. I have a style of art – the beads I make tend to fit into that “concept”. I have to figure out now what beads I could make that might represent those indelible moments of my life.

I have thoughts on the beads and completion of this piece – but whether they will end up in a UFO bag or brought to fruition is a whole ‘nother discussion. Wish me luck.