Could French bead flowers have
anything in common with ballet?
If you wanted to be a tap dancer,
jazz dancer, Irish-step dancer, gymnast, or even a modern-dance
dancer - you must learn excellent technique before anything
else. For all these kinds of dance, the best place to develop
superior technique is in ballet class. There, you will learn to
point your feet, stretch your back as long and supple as it can
be, the right way to carry your head and how to make your arms
move as gracefully as the neck of a swan. After you have
mastered this, you can then modify a classic ballet move into a
wild jazz leap - because you now know how to do it correctly.
For the construction of French
bead flowers, you also must learn excellent technique. And, in
my opinion, what is the one most important technique for this
art?
Rule # 1 - Keep a straight
basic wire.
It sounds so easy. Naturally
you will keep a straight basic wire, you say. Easiest thing in
the world, isn't it? For someone who has never done French bead
flowers before, this can be a stumbling-block.
How do you stop a basic wire
from going wrong in the first place? Here are a few hints. 1 -
Have a tack or nail fastened into a cutting board for a working
surface. Wrap the top of a very long basic wire around that.
Keep tension on the leaf or petal as you wrap the spool wire
around the top basic wire. 2 - As you are about to wrap the
spool wire around the top basic wire, tug on the top basic wire.
Wrap the spool wire, and tug the top wire again. Turn the piece
over to check if the wire is bending in either direction. 3 -
Learn to work with the beads and wire a little bit on their
terms. If you can't fit another bead in the row that you're
about to wrap, the top wire can bend to one side just a little
bit on that row, as long as you straighten it back up the next
time you come up to the top basic wire, and if the overall look
of the petal or leaf is straight.
Once you have finished a few
rows on your piece, turn it over and see if the wire is looking
straight. If it isn't, the best solution is to take it out and
try it again. Try it a few times without trying pressuring
yourself too much. Don't worry about making a misstep; that's
the best way to learn. It's only little glass beads and metal
wire - they are gentle teachers. This is a whole new project for
your mind, your heart and your hands.
Give yourself a chance and
plenty of time, and before you know it you'll be making
perfectly straight basic rows. After that - If you want to make
a flower with petals that curve in unusual directions, you will
be able to control it and get the look you want.
Happy beading!
