Chain maille. Most people's minds certainly don't associate those two words with beading...Ren Faire, maybe. :) But seriously, beading and chain maille go hand in hand and share many of the same nuances. (Time consumption, endless fiddling, detail and minutiae, need for 3x magnification, use of specialty tools, ---both are an art.)I'm working on a project right now (in progress, on the left), integrating some beads into the Byzantine chain. I'm even hoping that the copper begins to patina because I think the greenish tinge will look really beautiful with the rosy beads.
On the topic of chain maille, at this year's To Bead True Blue in Tucson, AZ, Marilyn Gardiner- a beading and maille teacher in Canada and the US, will be offering several different classes on many different weaves. I wouldn't give my right arm (I need that to bead!) to go, but I might give a couple of my lesser-used toes. I almost had my husband convinced, but he turned on me at the last second. I'll have to keep up with her schedule and see if she might be in the area sometime. One site that offers a few great classes on chain maille is Beaducation. They're affordable, too. I've taken quite a few classes there, and I'm really excited about what I learned. Finally, probably the best site I've found on the subject of chain maille (in the very short time I've been such a big fan) is Maille Artisans International League. They don't mess around. They've got ALL KINDS of information, and basically anything you'd need to know all in one place, plus they are a network of artisans from all over the world, promoting knowledge and growth of chain maille as an art.
I've definitely caught the maille "bug". It's an interesting and exciting new thing to work on and it's really fun. I can't even tell you how much I love to learn new things, and from what I've seen, there is much to learn on this subject! The weaves themselves can be VERY complicated!
