How to Wear: Baha'i Prayer Beads

How to Wear: Baha'i Prayer Beads



The design of my Baha'i Prayer Beads wasn't done with having a wearable piece in mind. However, later on I discovered that they can double wrap around most people's wrists! So the goal of this post is to try and explain how it's possible.



Step 1:


Lay the prayer beads over your wrist, giving the side with the loop more length. (Focus on the Tassel and Loop ends; internal bead pattern varies so don't use it when following this guide).


Step 2:


Wrap the beads around the wrist twice, leaving the Tassel and Loop hanging downwards away from your hand.


Step 3:



Put the Tassel end through the Loop, being careful not to apply too much pressure to the Tassel which tends to be more fragile (should a Tassel fall off, it will not effect the bead body which is separate). Be sure to bring the loop up at least two beads, or more, depending on how tight you want it to fit.


Step 4:



Pull the Tassel upwards. You are then going to take the Tassel end, including the beads which the Loop separates, and thread them back through the Loop going the same direction as when you first put them through. If you only separated one bead, the piece might fall off your wrist, which is why two or more beads is ideal.


Step 5:



The beads are now secure around your wrist and shouldn't fall off! I wear my set for entire days at length, sometimes even sleeping in them, and have yet to have them slip from my wrist!

If anything isn't clear, or you have any questions or comments, please let me know!

Becoming a Student of Art

Those of you who know me probably are far less surprised by this than I am: I'm an art student. Oh yeah.

Now while many of you may question my motives for getting a second B.A. degree (or BFA in this case), rather than moving on to Masters, I offer you this little tidbit of information:

There is no PhD in Studio Art. Masters is the highest you can go. Interesting, no?

So this should force me to keep creating, which I'm very happy about. My goals are to graduate, enter an alternate teaching certification track, and become an art teacher. Later on the road I'll work on my MA and perhaps move up to teaching at a college level.

I'm still having a hard time actually assimilating the fact that I'm an ART STUDENT!

First Post: An Introduction

A self-portrait done in art nouveau, that turned out looking more like a hippie sixties poster. Hand-inked with sharpie on acetate, and colored in GIMP.

I suppose for my first blog posting, I should tell you a little bit about myself. Boring as it may be, it's necessary, so stop shooting me those pleading looks! I'll make it as quick and painless as possible, I promise. (Or do I: dun Dun DUN!).

Blog Focus

This blog is first, and foremost, focused on expression. I realize that's quite abstract. Basically, I hope to post my own works of art (primarily drawn, and beaded, with occasional writing), tips, tutorials, business-related topics, and features of other's works. But please let me tell you upfront now: I can't write on one of these things without bringing my own life into it a little bit. And seriously, I think that's a good thing. It shows that I'm human, not some automated bot whose programming you're reading!

My Background in Crafts

I can still remember those craft kits my mum used to buy me at Michaels. I would get my little sister, and cousin, to join in; I taught them to sew, how to cut a straight line, and how to tie off beads so they wouldn't snap off their string later. I grew up with a giant "craft box", a box filled with odds and ends procured from various sources, that I would glue together, sculpt, and just create with.

That craft box has gradually grown into a full closet of supplies. My room is constantly coated in paper and various bottles of paints and glues. You get the picture.

While I'm a big-time beader, I have a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none thing going on. I experiment a lot, pick up a new trade, get the gist of it, then try something new. My ultimate goal is to learn metalworking! But I'm terrified of fire. We'll see how it goes.

My Background in Art

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. My kindergarten teacher informed my mum that, even at five years old, I knew what I wanted to do: draw. She could tell because when we were allowed to choose our activities, I always chose the same one!

I was blessed to have a wonderful art teacher in middle school who encouraged me to continue with art through high school. Because of this, I transferred to a school where I would be allowed to take multiple semesters of art. The majority of my high school art education was less education, and more of a free-for-all, and though I enjoyed the time to work on my own terms, I became mostly self-taught, learning by drawing images over and over for hours on end.

High school was rough on me in more ways than one, and thus when I entered college, I stayed away from fine art classes until my senior year, when on a whim I enrolled in Drawing I. And loved it. Ever since, a pencil has been practically glued to my hand, and I hope to go on to get a BFA and become an art teacher myself.

Random Tidbits

I hold a BA degree in Religious Studies, which seems odd since I was raised pretty much secularly and was an atheist for many years. But I adore studying various religions, and attending different religious services, ceremonies, and practices. I think it's because I feel religion and spirituality is a good way to get at the heart of understanding humanity. I'm also highly spiritual myself, more New Age than anything, and so I like to include and incorporate a lot of religious symbols into my work. I love making things that can be used for religious practice as well, such as rosaries, icons, or statues for altars.

I'm Native American. I know almost every American can claim that, and I am a total mix of nationalities. However, Cherokee is one of my three biggest contributors (along with Irish and Brit), and I'm legally a tribesmember. I'm still debating whether I have a right to say that my crafts are done by a Native American or not, since I create dreamcatchers, but I feel that, since I know so little of my heritage, it's morally wrong even if it's legal.

I hope this helps you get to know me better, and if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them!