>All Beads go to Heaven

>

This morning, I looked through my box of old projects from when I first began beading. There, I found these two French-beaded roses. I think I made them about 4 or 5 years ago. Even though they took me a long time to make, I put them in the box because they weren't really perfect in my eyes. I used Chinese seed beads, silver wire instead of red, and I wrapped the stems with sticky floral tape instead of embroidery floss. But, they are still beautiful, and should never be forgotten.

These flowers have finally found a purpose. Yesterday, my union brother George passed away unexpectedly. His heart failed at the young age of 51. I worked with George in the rock-n-roll business for a very long time. One thing I will always remember is that he was very supportive of music and the arts, and every time I saw him, he asked about my beadwork. He encouraged me to pursue it, and he told me to show my artwork whenever possible. George was also one of the first people to ever comment on this blog - on my very first post. He told me he'd love to see my beadwork someday. So, I'm going to leave these beaded flowers with him, and together, they will go to Heaven.