I love my gypsy-like, bead bracelet. I love it so much, I’m dedicating an entire blog page and several photographs to it!
A few days back I was fiddling around with a bead necklace… err… bracelet… Its just a really long piece of thread with lots of tiny beads.
All the beads are unique in their own way… Some are broken, some have cracks, some which have holes in weird places, and some which have strange shapes. In short, its made up of rejected stuff a.k.a junk!
A few of us in college had gone to a local market and we found a hawker selling these, dirt cheap…
One look at those beads, and it was hard to resist… I immediately wrapped it around my wrist.
I loved it!
And then it broke – what else could you expect from a piece of junk.
But then, I loved it so much! So I repaired it, adding a few other beads from another broken bracelet.
Since then, the bracelet has been my constant companion. Wherever I have gone, its been with me. I’ve lost count of the number of times its broken. And the number of times
its been repaired. But every time it’s been repaired, a little bit has been added to it – a few forgotten beads lying in the corner of the cupboard, beads that had fallen out of old dresses, and beads that had even been ripped out of fancy wedding invitations!
Not all of them were old, some were new, like sea shells, bright seeds collected during one of our holidays…
There is nothing orderly, symmetrical, or perfect about the bracelet, yet, to me, it looks beautiful…
As it was being repaired for the umpteenth time, I decided to photograph the imperfect, pretty little beads. I’d borrowed my brother’scamera. I don’t know much, except that it had a special lens, which had a fixed focal length. I clicked a few times, and the result was horrible! That was enough to scare me.
If the camera wasn’t intimidating enough, I realised I had no clue how to go about taking the pictures. So I just switched to the auto mode and let the camera decide everything else!
All the photographs here were taken by the camera! Hope you enjoy the photographs.
Cheers!
Since I rely on material distributed over the internet, it is only appropriate that I do the same… The photographs here may be used for non-commercial purposes. A simple credit would be appreciated 🙂
Musings of an eccentric mind 
5 replies on “Beads!”
[…] else. For instance, the beads from several broken bracelets and necklaces have now become a gypsy-style garland. And all thebroken seashells from our collections have now become a decorative wall […]
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This sounds like the most wonderful bracelet ever! I love how it has evolved and changed over time, including new and different elements. It seems it more and more became a part of you. The photos are wonderful too.
I’m a jewellery maker myself, and my entire blog is about jewellery (more or less), so I fully enjoyed this post. I think jewellery means more to us than we sometimes realise.
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Thank you, Gunilla, for the lovely comment 🙂 I tried my hand at making jewellery many years ago – weaving beads using a beading loom I received as a gift. It was fun. But the finish wasn’t good enough, my problem area being the clasps. I even tried earrings. But I realised that there is lot more to jewellery making than meets the eye – no matter how simple a finished piece may look. It is indeed an art unto itself.
I like your style of telling the stories behind your works of art. Look forward to many more 🙂
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I really liked reading about your beads and the bracelet. I make a lot of my own, some with new beads I buy, and lots with old beads from jewelry I find at yard sales. As you say, each one is a work of art, very unique, and it is fun to do! 🙂
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Thank you, Barbara 🙂 Here’s to more fun and art! *clicks tall glass of coffee*
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