Beadwork as Love

People have been making and attaching beads to anything and everything since the first of us figured out how to do it "lila ota ehanni" - a really long time ago. (For those who want pronunciation guide: 'i' = 'ee', 'a' is 'ah', 'o' = 'oh', 'e' is 'eh'; the 't' is tongued lightly in this case, & the 'h' is hissed slightly as if you were trying to clear your throat softly while speaking. Lakota is a nasal, glottal language.)
Regardless, it is human nature to decorate, embellish, combine whatever catches our fancy so as to make the nifty, niftier. Somewhere far back along the run of time, back in the days when time more likely sauntered, someone decided to put a hole in something, and made the first bead. Or maybe s/he noticed that some woods, such as chokecherry (champa), have a soft center that can be pushed out, then they cut off a small piece, carved away some or all of the bark, and strung it on a thong. Who did it or where they lived is immaterial, however and wherever it happened, beadwork was born, and we Two-Leggeds got a new spiritual-therapy tool to boot.
Beadwork is relaxing, whether you do it or handle it. It is not something you can just whip through from start to finish. It requires focus, and some small amount of finger coordination. Anyone can learn to bead if they have passable eyesight and finger dexterity. I have taught beadwork to children as young as four, and to old men with work-enlarged, work-hardened hands and fingers like cigars, and everyone in between.
If your eyesight isn't terribly sharp at short distances, there are lighted magnifiers in a variety of shapes, sizes, and prices to help you enjoy this ancient, but timeless, fine-artwork medium.
You have no patience, you say? I'll tell you a secret, takoszja - patience is at least as much learned as it is inborn. Patience is a virtue in everyone's culture.
Beads can be made from almost any material, and have been. Materials include paper, both from sheets and mache', salt and bread dough clay, earth clays, metal, glass, pottery, porcelain, wood, and plastic. Did I miss any? Hope not!.. Probably did, though..
There are 'tons' of really nice books on beads out there.. on bead collecting, bead making, and what to do with beads and how to do it, to name a few. Take a look..
I have been with various men over the years, most of whom loved beadwork. Some of them did it, some just wore it.. All of them said that when they looked at beadwork, they felt calmer inside. I was with a wonderful Lakota man for about 15 months when he was murdered. I remained 'alone' for 9 years before I met another man I had any interest in taking up with. We were together about 3 days shy of a year when he was killed by someone trying to mug him for $300, in 2006. My inspiration left me when he went, but the relaxation I still get from creating beautiful things in beadwork, even though the patterns are someone else's right now.
Like "everyone, everywhere", I've always gotten a sense of relaxation and spiritual calming from looking at and handling beadwork, especially when it is either very well done, or the work of someone whose talent may not be the greatest, but who really loves what they do.
That last reminds me of a remark by a little boy from some time in my past.. His mother was very busy with something, so instead of making cookies to put in his lunch, she bought some "name brand" kind and put them in instead. He bit into one at lunch, made a wry face and looked at it and put it back in his lunch box with a sigh. Another little boy asked if there was something wrong with the cookie. The first boy shrugged and said, "needs love".
Truly, when something is made with love, it shows. Beadwork makes love tangible as much as it does anything else.