Behind the Scenes with Laura McCabe on her Art, Work, & Personal Life - Interview #2
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- A GIFTED BEAD ARTIST and a MASTER BEADING TEACHER
Come and learn more bout Laura McCabe, a visionary bead artist and beloved beading teacher - as she shares details of her art, work and personal life. In her Connecticut studio, Laura creates one-of-a-kind works of art using seed beads and found materials such as glass eyes, beetle shells and bird feet. Colorful, lush and engaging, her surrealist aesthetic is instantly recognizable. She's shown her designs at the Smithsonian Craft Show and other prestigious venues.
Here's a link to Laura's art pieces:
www.lauramccab...
TRUSTING HER INSTINCTS - PURSUING HER VISION
When Covid closed the world in March, 2020, Laura's stopped teaching classes all over the country, and started teaching herself how to make videos so that she could teach online. When she mentioned to friends and colleagues that she wanted to launch video master classes, everyone warned her it wouldn't work, that the beading field wasn't ready for such a concept. But, trusting her instincts, Laura kept going. She committed to establishing university-level, semester-long courses on beading "outside the box" by drawing ideas from nature and history.
In 2021, she launched her first online beading Master Class, which sold out within 24 hours. Several other Master Classes followed, each focusing on a single theme such as Wildflowers, Eye Flowers, Oceans or Insects. They sold out as well, as word of Laura's teaching style spread. She encourages beading students to move beyond imitating beading techniques and patterns - to "crack the code of creativity" while drawing on their own inner wisdom. She also mentors her students in weekly group meetings on Zoom, where she helps them resolve issues of technique or design.
In May, 2024, Laura launched her Codex Master Class, which demonstrates how these rare, beautifully-illustrated manuscripts can inspire unique beading designs. Visit Laura's website for more information:
www.justletmeb...
INTERVIEW BACKSTORY
In preparing this Behind the Scenes interview, I developed a list of 50 questions for Laura on a variety of topics. I invited her to select 20 questions she wanted to answer, letting her know that there will be 2 additional questions at the end that she will not have seen in advance. Laura agreed. She also offered to prepare several short video tours of her Cabinet of Curiosities, her antique beaded purse collection, her old steel cut seed beads, her butterfly hatching area and her studio space.
In another short video, she interviews her parents, asking them what kind of child she was, in addition to other questions. Their answers are both amusing and revealing. Longtime university professors, Laura's parents encouraged her to pursue her dreams, trusting her to establish her own niche in the world, propelled by her love of open-minded inquiry - or as Laura herself would say - her habit of "thinking outside the box."
Timestamps for Questions and Videos
00:10 - Introduction
01:05 - How did you first learn to do beadwork?
02:23 - You're self taught in beadwork. Did you have a book?
03:20 - What's your most favorite beading technique?
04:15 - What beading technique would you like to learn that you have not yet learned?
06:15 - What are your favorite beads?
07:32 - VIDEO TOUR: CABINET of CURIOSITIES
13:01 - VIDEO TOUR: ANTIQUE BEADED PURSES & BAGS
16:20 - VIDEO TOUR: ANTIQUE STEEL CUT BEADS IN ORIGINAL HANKS
17:39 - VIDEO TOUR: BUTTERFLY RAISING AREA
18:48 - Do you ever dream about beadwork?
20:18 - Do you think you were a beadworker in a past life?
22:36 - Would you come back as a beadworker in your next life? And if so, what part of the world you would be working in?
25:03: What do you like to do for fun?
27:21 - Can you give us a sense of your daily routine?
29:24 - If you could take a 2-week vacation, where would you go?
31:13 - How did your parents feel about you early on - and your affinity for sewing and beading?
32:03 - How do your parents feel about you now - and your choice of career?
33:38 - VIDEO - LAURA'S PARENTS DESCRIBE HER CHILDHOOD
(More timestamps coming soon.)
#beadwork #beading #beadweaving #diybeading #studio #beads #beadweaving #artist #artistjourney #beadstitch #studiotour #creativity #behindthescene #backstory
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Thank you for such an interesting interview! I really enjoyed learning more about Laura and her delightful family.
Hi, @Gina-dn6xm, thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you liked our interview. Laura is amazing in so many ways - and her parents are wonderful people. We'll be doing our live question and answer meeting in early June - hope you can stop by for that too. Time and date still TBA.
Valerie - I love how you do interviews. Interviewers could learn a lot from you. You not only ask brilliant questions, you also actually listen to what the interviewee says. (Many interviewers lack that 'listening' gene.) And yeah, I'm one of girlfan club. I love Laura and I love how she makes all of us much better beaders. Thank you to both of you lovely humans.
Hi Kathy, Thank you for leaving such a thoughtful compliment! I too am tired of interviewers who interrupt all the time - so the speaker can hardly finish a thought. Anyway, I'm grateful that you like my interview style. And I'm a Laura girlfan too - she's amazing on so many levels - a lovely human indeed. Happy beading - and please stop by again soon. And in early June when we host a live question and answer session with Laura! It's going to be fun!
Thank you for this interview. The idea of having several interviews with the same artist gives us more of a window into how both the interviewee as well as the interviewer think. Thank you for introducing us to Laura’s parents, her extensive studio and her curiosities.
I’m looking forward to the next interview and hope I’ll be able to be there “live.”
Hi Becca, You're welcome! I'm glad you like the idea of doing several interviews with each artist. I'm really enjoying getting to know them better. Laura's parents are lovely people and so supportive of her work. I hope you'll be able to come to our "Ask Laura" session in a few weeks. We'd love to have you! in the meantime, happy beading!
Loving this interview.
Hi @lindysmith378, so glad you're watching Laura talking about her life. She's wonderful to work with - so imaginative and smart - and fun! Thanks for stopping by! Please come again tomorrow if you can for our LIVE Q & A at 2 pm Central.
Another wonderful interview. Thank you for providing this content. As a RUclips beader and content creator I find it hard to sometimes find artist who put creativity ahead of bead sales. I just want people to get as excited as I do with beading. I'll say it too...I love Laura. Take care Valerie. Big hugs from Nova Scotia
I'm really glad you liked this interview with Laura McCabe. She's amazing on so many levels. Laura definitely values creativity - and it sounds like you do, too. I imagine it's cooler there in Nova Scotia than it is here in Chicago...which probably makes everything easier - including beading! Laura will be returning to my channel for a live Q & A session that is open to all - on July 27th. So if you have questions for Laura, please make a list now. More info coming soon.
Great interview! You are two very talented artists.
Hi @kathyfriedman571! I'm glad you liked our interview - we had fun working on it - and had no shortage of things to talk about. If you have a question for Laura, you can post it live to our next meeting in early June - time and date still TBA but it's in the works now.