Will bead for beauty

Artisan battles arthritis to remain creative

The Fresh Tendrils necklace is one of the projects retreatgoers will create at Beading in the Ozarks.

The Fresh Tendrils necklace is one of the projects retreatgoers will create at Beading in the Ozarks.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Holding a needle and thread can be difficult for Jeannine Rainone. She can’t straighten her hands or bend her wrists.

Rainone’s limitations come from rheumatoid arthritis, which has caused deformities in her hands and kept her from bending her wrists because the cartilage has been eaten away. The disease also causes her to have limited energy.

But Rainone still enjoys making jewelry through bead weaving. She pushes herself beyond her limitations, she said, because “that’s where you’re passionate, that where your love is.”

The joy she finds in beading led to create Beading in the Ozarks, a bead weaving retreat from Sept. 26 to 29 in Eureka Springs. Three beading artists from around the nation will conduct classes, and in each one, participants will make a jewelry project. Guest teachers are Met Innmon, Melissa Grakowsky Shippee and Leslee Frumin. Registration is now closed, but those interested in beading can attend an open house Sept. 29 to meet the artists and shop their pieces.

Rainone said people interested in next year’s retreat will need to have a basic understanding of peyote, right angle weave and herringbone before attending. The second annual retreat will be Aug. 14-17.

BATTLING ARTHRITIS

Rainone was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1977 when she was 19. Rheumatoid arthritis is a form of inflammatory arthritis and an autoimmune disease, according to the Arthritis Foundation website, arthritis.org.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, specifically the synovium, a thin membrane that lines the joints. As a result of the attack, fluid builds up in the joints, causing pain in the joints and inflammation that’s systemic - meaning it can occur throughout the body.

Rainone developed an allergic reaction to the medication she was given, and to date, she has had about 15 orthopedic surgeries to battle the effects of the disease. She has arthritis all through her body now, limited range of motion in her neck and her fingers are bent and crooked.

“From my toes to my jaw, I’ve had arthritis in it,” she said.

Rainone said she has to plan her days carefully because she has a finite amount of energy to get through each one. She must choose where to exert it.

“If I get over-tired or overdo it, then I get a flareup, which means I’m going to lose a whole day in bed due to pain,” she said.

One of the ways she deals with the arthritis is a water therapy class, in which she does range-of motion exercises. But, she said, she has to take painkillers before this class or she can’t make it through.

She also typically takes painkillers before she starts bead weaving. She can usually go a couple of hours without feeling pain, but if she doesn’t take medication, the pain will strike in about half an hour.

BEADS, BEADS, BEADS

A project that takes most people a few days to complete will take Rainone about a month.

“I have to bead really slow because of my arthritis and my limited finger mobility,” she said.

When she completes a project, however, she feels she’s “just carved Mount Rushmore.” She gets a sense of accomplishment and joy, she said.

She has to stand up and stretch after a while because if she doesn’t, she’ll be in a lot of pain the next day.

She started stringing beads in 1999, taking a class at a local bead shop. In 2005, she started focusing on bead weaving.

“It’s so rewarding once you see this pile of little tiny beads turn into something,” she said.

Rainone makes necklaces, bracelets and rings and, she said, she is “all about pink.”

“There is no pink that I have ever met that I don’t love.”

She said there are so many colors in nature in Northwest Arkansas that she’s constantly looking outside and thinking of Swarovski crystal colors.

In bead weaving, the base of jewelry is made from seed beads. Some of these are cylinder beads that are uniform in cut and others are round seed beads. Stones, pearls or crystals are used as embellishments or focal points, she said.

Bead weaving satisfies a part of her “that just wants to create things.” Rainone said it is a release and very zen for her. Once she begins to do bead weaving, she goes into a calm place, doing something she loves.

When she first started beading, she thought pieces were pretty and saw some that looked like works of art, leading her to want to create jewelry herself.

“For me, beading is just an expression of the creative part of myself,” she said.

GO & DO Beading in the Ozarks Open House

When: 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sept. 29

Where: Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs

Information: 469-450-3723 or beadingintheozarks.com

Style, Pages 29 on 09/19/2013