Arleen Hardin
by Sigrid Wynne-Evans
Arleen Harden has a delightful Mix of bracelets, earrings, necklaces and other wonderful offerings. My favorite of her designs are Madam Phantom, and the Little White Mice Necklace. Be sure to take a look at these, she really did a great job on these two designs, as well as her others.
Sampling of Arleen's Designs:
Click on an image to view the pattern.
 
 
Arleen grew up in Lindsay, which is a small town in central Oklahoma during the oil boom of the 70's and 80's. After High School, she had various jobs until she landed a job with Southwestern Bell. She started out as a directory assistance operator and then transferred to Bells PBX installation and repair division. She continued to work in this field, installing and repairing phone systems with multiple phone lines for about 25 years. Arleen considers herself retired from this work, but she says she still does the occasional job, for those folks who know how to find her.
Presently, Arleen lives in Bradley, which is not too far from Lindsay. She lives with her best friend (husband of 11 years).Arleen's husband is a civil service tech with the OK National Guard, and is on active duty due to the events of 911. Arleen and her husband have 4 sons ranging from 26 to 16 years of age. Arleen says that being surrounded by all these males can be a trial, but beadwork has helped to keep her sane! Additionally, Arleen can boast of having 4 grandchildren, with another due in October 2004.
When I asked Arleen what one of her biggest challenges or accomplishments are, she replied: "Last year when out oldest shipped out to Iraq with the army, we moved our daughter-in-law and youngest granddaughter in with us. Within a week we had nicknamed the granddaughter "the grandmonster" I am not so used to being around, much less living with girls. Remember, I raised 4 boys! Teaching her a tiny bit of discipline was quite a challenge, but she finally learned that unlike mommy, Memaw isn't a push over."
When Arleen was young, her grandmother tried to teach her beadwork. But being the active tomboy that she was, she preferred to spend time climbing trees. She did not develop the patience to work the more involved designs until she was in her 30's.
When Arleen stumbled upon Suzanne Cooper's tutorials, it jogged her memory of what she learned when she was younger. She jumped right in had has continued learning on line, and by trial and error.
Design central! Okay I have to admit the desk is usually not this neat!
Arleen may be considered to be a perfectionist. When she finds the least little thing she does not like, she will rip it apart completely, or toss it aside into her "unfinished objects" box. Most of her beadwork has been given away to friends and family, but she has managed to keep some of her favorites.
As you can imagine, raising four children can be expensive. When Arleen had any extra cash to play with, she bought beads rather than beadwork related books. Since she didn't have any design books, you could say she began designing out of necessity so that she would have something to work with. Arleen prefers simple designs such as geometric or small patterns using few colors. Her favorite piece is her "Patchwork Butterfly" bracelet. She has a hard time keeping it on her wrist because people who see her wear it, want it!
Arleen does most of her beadwork from her "comfy" recliner in the living room. She has a small table set up next to the recliner that has shelves full of beading trays with UFO's. Most of her beads are stored in the kitchen in a 6-drawer dresser. She hopes that her current home remodeling plans will allow her to store all her beads in one room.
A close up of the shelves, overflowing with finished beadwork,
quite a few UFOs, and stuffed with folders full of print outs.
Sampling of Arleen's Designs:
Click on an image to view the pattern.
 
 
For future plans, Arleen hopes to find more time to do more beading. She would also like to publish more books. Arleen has a series of bookmark patterns that she is thinking of compiling into a printed book. Bead-elves are working on her projects but as anyone who has published before knows sometimes even the best laid plans take much longer than you expect.
Arleen's final words of wisdom for beaders: "Keep trying. Some beadwork stitches seem to be harder for beginners to grasp, but if you just keep trying, you will eventually work through the frustration and be ready to tackle the next stitch"
Arleen Hardin
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