Sixtieth Connection: When you need to make your own world

When the limitations of this world seem too restrictive and every perceived way forward seems lorded over by an unsympathetic outside gatekeeper, you may need to make your own world. This is what I think about now looking back at my piece, Small Beaded World. While I was making it (around 1984), I was interested in the aesthetic/technical aspects: making a round shape by cutting and hand sewing together flat pieces of fabric; selecting just the right color of transparent glass bugle beads; determining how densely to attach them on the surface and how satisfying the beads would feel as a texture as you held it. As I made it I thought about making it wearable so the wearer could stay “I’ve got the world on my shoulder”. I also thought about making a much larger version, designed to be worn by 3 (or more) people at a time, and how they might choreograph their movements to keep the world from falling down.