AOTM November 2008 - Sabine

Started by Sarah, October 30, 2008, 10:38:01 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Sarah

Sabine Little








In July 2007, when I was five months pregnant, my husband and I went on a 'babymoon' -a last holiday for just the two of us. We decided to go to Venice. Before then, I'd never thought about how glass beads are created, to be honest. But there was all this glassy gorgeousness! Unfortunately, we'd forgotten to tell our bank we were going abroad, so they refused to give us any money, so I came home with just a few beads in my luggage.





After coming back from Venice, I decided to treat myself to a one-day lesson with Mike Poole at Tillerman Beads - that was late August 2007. I remember saying to him I had no intention of buying any kit or anything, I just wanted to have a go.   ;D





I've been really lucky! Apart from the lesson with Mike, I've had a day with Claire (Rowanberry), and a two-day class with Di East and Sally Carver. Becky (Chameleon) also showed me a trick or two at the Flame-Off last year. It is great having so many people teaching in the UK, but there are also countless people willing to share tips on FH, and on Flickr. I must have started more question threads than most!!!





I think the bead makers I admire most are those who have found a definite style - you
look at their beads, and you think: So-and-so did that, no question! At the
same time, though, I admire experimentation, not settling for one thing, but
continuously pushing yourself into new directions - you don't need to be
experienced to do that, just challenge yourself! I've done a lot of reading and
admiring photos recently, in books, on Flickr, and there is some stunning work
at all levels of bead-making. Finally, I admire bead makers with patience....because I haven't got any!





It's an old cliche, but I tend to get my inspiration from nature. Doing sculptural flowers, I constantly find
myself looking in parks, gardens, or wherever, wondering if what I see would
work in a bead. I also love words - names, poetry, songs...there are so many
moods that you can play on! I had a period when I was uninspired, and I asked my husband to give me a song title every time I went out to the torch. Once I got over the thought that I simply had to depict what the song title said, I think I got much better (and nobody got to see the bead from the night 'Big black horse and the cherry tree'  ;)) My Windows to the Soul beads nearly all have names derived from song titles or poems.





I guess I have two signature bead styles - the Windows to the Soul beads, which are encased and selectively etched, and my roses. I love both because they are totally different, and require different concentration - the WTTS beads require
precision in encasing and dot placement, the roses constant re-heating and
going in and out of the fame. I pull petals as I go, not in advance, so each
rose is like a little thrill-ride.  :)





Oh, I wish I had stringer control!!! I could do so much more! I don't really do
small and precise - you will notice the WTTS beads have clear dots on a clear
background, so it doesn't matter if I mess up, I just melt everything in and
start again! I would love to do the water-colour painting type of beads, with
striped-cane flowers, and aquarium beads - neither seem possible without proper stringer control...I would love to be able to fume and do dichro as well.





I found it really hard to say which bead I'm most proud of - it's usually the last one that turned out really well! I think it has to be 'Search Deeper', my second WTTS bead, which
is still on the banner to my shop. I made it five months after my first lesson,
and I was getting the feeling that I'd thought of a style that was my own - it
was very exciting, and I still wear the bead often, it wasn't one of those you
keep for a couple of months, then, as your skill advances, you wonder how you could have ever been proud of it  :).





I'm messy, lol but I hope that doesn't come through too much!  Otherwise I don't
know what part of my personality comes through in my beads ...maybe others should answer that question. I love life, and I love
'pretty' things - I'll stand and watch the clouds, or feel the bark on a tree,
or pebbles on a beach...I hope that love shines through.





I'm working at getting better, lol! I'm really enjoying sculptural work, so I'm
trying to push the limits (my limits, that is!) all the time. I'm no artist,
I'm just a working Mum who gets a couple of hours a week in the garage, so I
don't really have a grand plan. I do get commissions, and I love working on
those, because, to be honest, sometimes I'm so tired, it's nice to have
something that'll drag me out to the garage. Once I've lit the torch, it's
fantastic, so commissions get me out and creating when the sofa beckons...I'm still at the beginning of my journey, so everything is constantly evolving - rose petals turn to butterfly wings turn to fairy skirts turn to...?





It's my mission for 2009 to do a bead fair - my son was too young this year to
really have a go.





At the moment, I sell mainly through my website
www.littlecastledesigns.co.uk. My work is in a couple of galleries in Sheffield
as well...but, again, because I'm working, I'm always behind photographing and
putting things up, so sending me an email (mail@littlecastledesigns.co.uk) is
probably the best way to tell me what you're looking for. Oh, and check out future issues of Beads and Beyond