Beadwork and metalsmithing have always been great ways for me to explore world-building or character features in fiction, especially those that may be difficult at first to capture in language. Sometimes, building an object or representing it in some other art form is a wonderful way to figure out how to write about it. Since I write a lot of magical realism and fantasy, I often turn to beadwork to help me figure out how mysterious elements work in my stories. As a result, I’ve created lots of objects that look like vitrines, sight glasses, haunted forests, talismans, portals, passageways, and bottomless ponds. During the pandemic, I used a KN95 mask to bead a marvellously baroque monster-mouth.
The first image in the upper left was featured on Instructables – you can find the details how to build your own!
I’m not a great photographer, but I’ve enjoyed capturing some interesting shots of nature, and especially, the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction in 2022, taken with a smartphone mounted to my 4SE Celestron telescope!
The view from our new home on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. A breathtakingly beautiful place!
Susan Sechrist 