Beaded bezels and oh, so much more!

If you think you might have trouble being taught some beading skills

by a fella ...

or if you have any sort of allergic reaction to  C O L O R 

then do not and I repeat, DO NOT

take a beading workshop with Thom Atkins ...

for a fella he certainly is, and he is most definitely

not afraid of color.

Not one little bit.

Every year the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, WA,  holds a fantabulous Quilt Festival,
a week-long event that includes special workshops by visiting textile & embellishment artists.
Thom was part of this year's talented contingent ~
and so was his very talented and beadiful sister, Robin Atkins!
You may like to revisit my January post where I wrote about them during Thom's one-person exhibit,
"Ten Year's of Beaded Quilts" to see more examples of his work.

For our "Beaded Bezels & Borders" workshop we were given
design kits filled with fun fabric by Laurel Burch and multiple baggies
filled with coordinating beads ...
I enjoyed this approach a great deal for it pushes you away from your comfy spot
and tweaks your thinking into a whole new realm.
It's always good to visit new & unexplored places.

Here's a couple examples from my yet-to-be-finished sampler ...

a "fence" with a lacy edge and a

peyote stitched bezel around a flat-backed cabochon.

Here's my shisha mirror *loudmouth* bezel ...
I can see myself there on occasion.

Thom is looking very serious, but in actuality our workshop was filled with loads of laughter.
Here he's clarifying one of his methods,

patiently answering the dozens of questions we fired at him.

The demo table was covered with examples of his own samplers ....
be prepared to swoon.

Shisha mirror cab at the top, flat-backed cab on the bottom.

We learned how to stitch the rope edging as well ...

This detail was from his cat piece ... 

I loved the flouncy effect of all those beads around that cab.

Fearless with color, that's how I'd describe Thom's work.

And this is the sampler that almost disappeared  into the bottom of my bag.

Isn't she a BEAUT?!

If you ever have the opportunity to learn firsthand from Thom,

oh, I do hope you'll take it.

In the meantime, his bountifully beautiful new book has just hit the streets,

"Beading Artistry for Quilts: Basic Stitches & Embellishments Add Texture & Drama."

Check it out.  Many more samples of Thom's work are viewable online.

And then there's this ...

included in his bio, a most interesting excerpt:

"Some 30 years ago, his sister, Robin Atkins, taught him the basics of bead embroidery

on fabrics.  He's been fascinated with beads ever since, but sewing beads onto fabric and

making stained glass didn't produce a decent living.  He was also tired of the fragility of glass,

so he went back to college, where he learned about welding, forging, silversmithing, and

bronze casting.  Bronze casting gave him back the tactile surfaces and the subtleties of

three-dimensional curves and negative space.

A car accident terminated his career in sculpting in bronze.

While recovering from the surgery to repair his wrists and thumbs, 

he thought about sewing beads onto cloth in such a way

that the beads and the fabric both had a say in the design.

He's been working with the delicate balance between beads and fabric in his designs ever since."

Making the most of our human condition.

Isn't that the best of what we can all hope for?

: : :

Thank you for visiting today ... I hope you have enjoyed all the 

C O L O R

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Thom Atkins, a man who beads...

and...stitches THE MOST exquisite art quilts.

Breathtaking, literally.

To see his jeweled handwork in person was an enormous pleasure.  If you are

anywhere near the area, I hope you'll visit the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum

and see these beauties for yourself.  

Thom Atkin's one-person exhibit, 'Ten Years of Beaded Quilts,' will be up until March 25th.

This piece is comprised of five panels, the large center one shown here.

You can see more of 'Byzantine Bezels and Borders, Oh My!' over on Thom's website,

but believe me,

there are no pictures that can come close to capturing what they look like 

when they are a few inches from your face...get there if you can.

So... 

what happens when you pile four bead-smitten, textile-smitten gals into one vehicle

and head off to see an exhibit such as the likes of this?

Nothing short of a totally splendid & inspiring time, that's what!

I'll show you a few things that really knocked my socks off.

At the helm of our merry band was my dear bead friend, Robin Atkins...

Thom Atkins is Robin's brother.  Can you believe that all this beadiness is in ONE family?!

She's posted about Thom's exhibit over on her blog, Beadlust...go check it out, it's a lovely read.

Needless to say, she is one proud sister.

A special thrill for me was to see an entire wall filled with Thom's pieces from

the Bead Journal Project, 2007.  That was one of the years that I participated

 and I remember watching his pieces show up on the BJP website...

oh, how wonderful to see them in person, at last!

But before I go on, I hope you will all bear with me in regards to the color & quality

of the photos here.  Geesh, it was tough shooting in there...low, tungsten light

which cast a yellow glow on everything...camera's ISO pushed to the max....so I've opted for

just getting these images up here (rather than spending hours & hours tweaking in PE).

The beauty of Thom's work will come through, even if the photography fell short...

January: It's Still Raining

9" x 13"

January was one of my favorites from the BJP (click on the name above to see it on Thom's website)

...I love his beaded interpretation of the feeling of sideways rain...

and the way that bottom edge is beaded...those rain drops are hand carved Labradorite beads.

Here is some more beautiful rain...

detail from, The Man in the Window

It was easy to be swept up in the details.  Many of the quilts were quite large, like this one

which hangs in two panels...I kept moving up for a closer look.

Smoke and Mirrors

50" x 53"

Click on the photos to see the details better.

If you go, plan on lots of time for staring.  I was spellbound by the iguana in The Lotus Eater...

his back is entirely covered with tortoiseshell dagger beads...splendid!

detail from The Lotus Eater

31.5" x 37"

detail from Monterey Seascape

27" x 36"

I think Robin and I were not alone swooning over this underwater habitat...truly incredible.

Can you tell this was an exhibit filled with viewers' expletives?!  That central branching

plant is constructed of triangular seed beads...must be one of finest uses of that shaped bead

that I have ever seen, so expressive of that plant's jointed structure...

detail from Coral

Although not a quilter myself per se, I have great appreciation for the skill involved in letting

fabric dictate line & motion, for taking traditional methods and making one's own marks with them...

for embellishing personal stories in one's own particular voice...

detail from Australian Aboriginal meets American Indian

For me, Thom's creations are as bold, and strong and as expressive as a very fine opera,

filled to the brim with his very distinctive voice!

Here's Robin with her "little" brother, Thom.

I'd say they are both beaming, wouldn't you?

: :  :

Thom has a book coming out in the fall, on quilting with beads.

Stay tuned for that one...I'll write a reminder when it hits the streets.

And if you can't wait to learn more about his methods, rumor has it that Thom will be teaching soon-ish

right there at the La Conner Quilt Museum...

news to be posted about this ~ and the link to sign up ~ on the museum's website 

starting on January 18th.

Ok...I'm going to spill some more beans and let you know that Robin has agreed to teach

two half-day workshops there herself...

it's all too, too beadiful indeed!

: : :

February UPDATE!  Registration is now open for the Quilt Fest Workshops (happening in early October, 2012) to be held at the La Conner Quilt Museum, WA, where both Thom and Robin will be teaching their extraordinary techniques and sharing their talent.  Thom's workshops include, "Bead Embroidery for Quilters," "Beaded Bezels & Borders," and "Improvisational Bead Embroidery."  Robin will be teaching "Beaded Buttons" and "Beaded Fringe Techniques."  Click on this direct link for the workshop descriptions and registration.

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