>Fill In the Blanks
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Thanks for all your comments on my last post. Just to be clear, I do not doubt myself as an artist. But, as a bead artist, this is easy to do when beadwork is constantly being labeled as craft.
Crymson recently wrote a post that made me think about this subject even further. She experienced the same sort of identity crisis regarding her French-beaded flowers. Are they art or craft? I looked at Beads in Bloom written by Arlene Baker, and it says in so many words, "...the art of making beaded flowers... is a craft that dates to the Middle ages... " So, it seems that the line is blurry even to those who have written the book. I'm not sure that we can define at which point beadwork becomes art, and not craft, or even if it is necessary.
But, in order to try, we must first define beadwork. And, what better way to do that, than on Wikipedia. I'm always surfing around on that site while I'm doing research for my blog posts, when suddenly I got the crazy idea that I should become a Wikipedian - someone who writes and edits articles for Wikipedia. I noticed that there are quite a few blanks that need to be filled when it comes to defining beadwork, and all of its techniques. So, I sat down and really thought about what needs to be improved upon. Then, I created a user page. There, you will see the following summary of goals that I would like to accomplish on the site:
To expand upon the definition for the term beader. The current Wikipedia definition states that "a beader uses beads to create many kinds of decorative items." Decorative items?? That's it??
To expand upon the beadwork article. Beading is one of the oldest crafts on the face of the planet. Like painting, countless books have been published about beading, yet the Wikipedia article about it is lacking quite a bit of information. This page could also include a gallery of several different types of beadwork.
Write missing articles for each bead weaving technique, as well as add any that may be missing. Articles can include photos of examples, as well as external links to online tutorials and a list of references. Missing articles needed are:
Write an article about the art of French-beaded flowers, including its history, a tutorial, and a gallery of examples.
Add more photos of beadwork to illustrate different techniques and examples of this art whenever possible.
Link other art-related pages to photos & articles about beadwork whenever relevant.
Please let me know if you think I missed anything. If you are a bead artist who is educated in one of the topics that I have listed above, and you would like to contribute to this project, don't be shy! There is no way I can accomplish all of that on my own. Wikipedia is a community, and the more people who get involved, the more reliable this source will become. If you'd like to help, feel free to create your own account and begin to edit or write an article. You can also contact me either through Wikipedia or through my website with your ideas. This project will be an ongoing one, but I think the end result will be very rewarding. Together, we can help to educate more people about the art of beadwork:)