The "C" Word...

Commitment is a big word – not just because it has ten letters in it, but because of what it means. Commitment means sticking with something and hanging in there, even when difficulties arise.

Commitment is big too, for what it does. A tiny commitment, of maybe just 15 minutes a day, can develop into huge results.

Say you want to achieve a goal, so you decide to work 15 minutes every day to work toward that goal.

Your commitment is what keeps you showing up and making the effort, every single day, no exceptions, even when you’re not in the mood.

Eventually, you will reach your goal. It won’t happen overnight, and it won’t happen because you put the rest of your life on hold, it’ll happen because you honored your commitment to work toward your goal 15 minutes every day, no matter what.

Here’s one example of what commitment can achieve: Yesterday, the building inspector came to sign off (finally!!!) on the roofing permit. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that my husband Jerry re-roofed our house last summer. And broke his back doing it. Yet, once he healed, he was back up there, finishing the job, because he was committed to the project. I am not at all happy he broke his back working on this project, but I am proud beyond words that he completed the job, and did such nice work.

Another example of commitment, and one more in line with the Art Bead Scene Carnival Blog discussion topic: floral lampwork beads. Earlier this year, I signed up for a floral bead swap. Never mind that I didn’t really *do* florals, I’m such a swap junkie that I put my name on the list.

I practiced and experimented with a few different floral designs, hoping one would turn out pretty enough to swap, and mostly disappointed each morning when I opened the kiln. But I was committed to that swap, and to learning how to create a non-embarrassing floral bead, so I stuck with it and kept trying.

Finally, I recalled a coffee cup that I’d once had, with a glossy black background and lovely bluish-purple irises, and thought that might make a nice bead, so I gave it a go.

Here’s the picture of the prototype for my “acceptable” floral beads – as you can see, I made tulips, not irises, but the basic design is reminiscent of that coffee cup. I decided to see how nice I could get these, so I kept working and practicing the tulip beads, and eventually wound up with beads lovely enough to send out in the swap.

Here are a few more pics of some of my more refined tulip beads. I have a ton of ideas for this design, and am committed to developing them. Too, I’m inspired by other floral bead makers, like Leah Fairbanks, Dolly Ahles, and Kim Miles, whose work demonstrates their obvious commitment to the form and encourages me to keep working on my own floral beads.