Battle of the Beadsmith 2014 - it has begun

 

I was an original battler when the inaugural Battle of the Beadsmith aka BOTB12 kicked off in 2012.  Battling legend and front man Steven Weiss of The Beadsmith was the brains behind the contest.  There were 80 original battlers (or if you like invited participants) and one winner.  The uber talented Alla Maslennikova, won with her achingly beautiful design 'Baroque'..... My design Arabesque Armour made it to the Top 5.

I withdrew from the Battle of the Beadsmith aka BOTB13 due to other beading commitments and general design fatigue following my Bead Dream design marathon.  However I was still involved with the contest, but as a judge which was a difficult task in itself. Ann Braginsky was the winner for BOTB13 contest with her exceptional bead embroidered piece, 'Tenth Wave'. 

BOTB14 I am again a participant.  I have been working on my design since April 1, which was the official start date of the Battle. There are 256 Battlers in this contest, so the contest has increased considerably.  Participants from all over the world have come together to push their design selves and interact within a vibrant and friendly international beading community.

Calmly I waited until April 1 then rummaged through my stash to get to the source of my inspiration for my Battle piece.  Deflated I found it .. it was not what I had remembered it to be like.  It was smaller and not as elegant. Damn.  I began a lengthy internet search in the hope of acquiring a more dramatic 'piece' to use for Plan A.  I discovered it in Germany, expedited shipping was 170 Euros plus the price of the 'piece' and I had not even ordered the beads yet.  Plan A got shelved.

I then began work on Plan B and tinkered with it for a few days.  I soon discovered that it was not Battle worthy and put it to one side.  I waited a few days giving my muse time to roll things around and commenced Plan C.  I liked Plan C and how it was evolving and continued with the design for a couple of weeks.  Soon my interest in Plan C was waning ... I put it down and returned to Plan B with renewed interest.  Gathering more inspiration, sourcing new design elements and wandering around on Pinterest seeking images that would inspire my design pitch for that particular period in history.  But. After a few days I returned to Plan C again this time with a completely new colour way.  I was excited about it this time, very excited.  I fiddled, then ordered more materials and was off again firmly with Plan C + a new colour way as my way forward. 

The main focal for Plan C morphed unexpectedly so Plan C + new colour way did a complete right turn, so I'm calling it Plan C.2.  The motif that I completed that would have been used as part of the focal has been cast aside. I am currently planning and sketching a new focal to replace the said 'meh' focal.  It is still at the drawing on a sheet of paper stage. Time will tell if it will be the actual focal used. 

With all of this flipping around with designs there as been a flurry of activity on various sites as I acquired the necessary materials to create what my muse ordered.  Expedited shipping from the US to Australia has been called upon three times so far.

I'm hopeful Plan C.2 will be my acutal piece to enter to the contest as I am running out of time for revisions and new Plans. The funny thing about this is the original Battle, BOTB12 I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I used every day available to me to build it.  BOTB12 was quite an unremarkable process compared to my BOTB14. 

All we be revealed after June 8. 

Happy Beading.