I have been working with the Bead Loom since early 1987. One Saturday afternoon in Jan. 1987 I wandered into The Bead Goes On which was showing in the Maude Kerns Gallery in Eugene. I was totally blown away by the neckpieces of Virginia Blakelock, as well as the work and by the variety of work by other artisans. I was so impressed that I drove all the way back to Eugene the next day in a driving rainstorm to have another look. That's a 240 mile round trip from my home in Coos Bay. I had not been aware that people were doing that kind of work in beads. I was particularly intrigued by the technical aspects of bead looming. So I began to teach myself the basic loom techniques. The first piece I did was a pattern from Ray C. Davis's book, Prize winners; 12 loomed Necklaces. I just changed the beads from size 11's to size 16's. The next piece took me about 600 hours. It's called Old Ugly and lives in the bottom of my wife's suitcase. Actually its a nice piece, but has too many mistakes to put in a gallery.
I have been challenged to push the envelope with new techniques or variations on old ones. I am a little surprised that I have stayed interested in Bead Looming for this long, but I still have more ideas than time. Actually, I start to get a little antsy if I'm not working on a piece.
I enjoy the continuing challenge of the What If's and How to's. That is, I may say, "what if I do this, how will it look", or "how do I do this to get the effect I want?"
For the last several years or so I have been spending a great deal of time teaching workshops all over the country. I think it's great that people are willing to pay me to travel and I've found that I enjoy teaching a great deal. I get to meet many interesting artisans wherever I go. Teaching has been a great learning and sharing experience for me.My book "Beading On A Loom" is in it's 4th printing and my new book "Designs for Beading on a Loom" is selling quite well. Watch for the next book titled Art Deco Designs For Beading On A Loom which should be available in early 2004.