The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

JenniferL@73 — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:15:15 GMT

Natasha, thank you so much for your answers to the questions. I live on the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia, so your artworks had much meaning for me. They are incredible.

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

Michelle Mach — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:39:33 GMT

Natasha's Response:

Maureen:
The main stitch I use is circular peyote stitch. I'm a self-taught bead weaver and in all honesty I don't really know any other stitch! I find already there is so much more I want to do with this one stitch that I'm not yet ready to move onto another. I am also more drawn to circular forms, rather than linear, that this technique is perfect!! I do like to experiment with different tensions of the weaving process and also have used straight peyote stitch and various other embellishment/interweaving techniques to further elaborate the forms.

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

Michelle Mach — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:38:41 GMT

Natasha's Response:

Nanci:
With all my works, including 'Thriving' I make the multiplied pieces separately and then weave them together--it's much easier production-wise to do the same thing over and over again. Because the art works take so long to complete (averaging 2-4 months), at times I do start to weave the pieces together either at the beginning, or half-way through in order to get an idea as to where the piece is going and also to see the progress.

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

Michelle Mach — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:37:58 GMT

Natasha’s Response

Gina:
I am mostly inspired by microbiology and organic formations found in nature-- anything from cellular structures of disease to natural life growing at the bottom of the sea. I find myself drawn to natural elements that at first glance may repel us or make us uneasy, but when you look more closely, it’s absolutely amazing. In many ways my objective is to emphasize the beauty of something that we otherwise think is not.

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

Michelle Mach — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:36:34 GMT

Natasha’s Response

Kathleen:
I pretty much make small bead woven models or samplers before I start a piece. I have what I call my 'bag of fun' which is a bag full of hundreds of small models of many different ideas I've come up with over the years... a lot of bad stuff actually. But I find this process to be the most important, trying different forms, colors, etc. Most importantly, as bad as most of these models and experiments appear, I never throw them away. I keep them all, and a few times a year I go through this bag because sometimes something that didn't seem to work years ago, may in fact give me ideas for future works. I do some small sketches as well, usually when I have an idea but don't have time to make a small model and I need to document the idea so I don't forget.

So with starting any piece, I make a bead woven model, make sure I know exactly what I want to do, have a clear vision as to what I want the piece to become, and then once I am certain, I order the beads and get onto production. I like to start each piece with 100% clarity and confidence (there would be nothing worse than making a piece for a few months and then realizing that it’s terrible!!) It has happened many times where I do reach that point of anxiety where after months of production a piece isn't going the way I planned, and in fact there are big changes the piece halfway through or at the end during assembly of the finished piece. 'Thriving' turned out completely different to my initial idea. When I was weaving 'Thriving' together, I wasn't happy with what I was seeing, the piece wasn't working, I went through major panic and in fact that moment of uncertainty eventually turned into a breaking point where I took the step to try something different and allowed my work to evolve.

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

KathleenC@20 — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 04:09:38 GMT

Such beautiful works!
Where do you start with your pieces? Do you sketch or in any way work out what you want to achieve before hand? Or is it a more organic process that grows in it's own way?
Have you ever had a piece that you planned to take one direction only to have it change it's mind as it took form, and surprise you?
Thanks!
Kathleen

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

Mrswtownsend — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:32:50 GMT

WOW Natasha! What a talent and what a way to look outside the box! What are the kinds of inspirations that drive your creativity? When I look at the pieces featured in the Beading Daily article, I tend to associate a similarity to natural communities of plant and sea life...
Your work is absolutely amazing and beautiful!
Gina in AZ, USA

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

absolutfeli — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:37:39 GMT

I am amazed by what you can do with beads!!

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

MaureenR@13 — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:23:22 GMT

Natasha,
What stitches do you use and which do you like best? Do you find that some work best for certain things, like flexibility, stiffness, etc.? Maureen Redmond-Scura, Concord, NH

re: The Beaded Sculptures of Natasha St. Michael

NanciW2 — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:14:09 GMT

question for Natasha St Michael-- in creating "Thriving" did you make the pieces separately and then put them together, or did you build it, attaching as you proceeded?