Art
Chronic Pain Won’t Stop This Teen From Catching All 151 Pokemon In One Amazing Bead Art!
She also does Adventure Time and Harry Potter! Amazing, amazing work!
Chronic physical pain can be so debilitating that people living with this condition are left with no choice but to give up — spend the rest of their lives in bed, sulk at home, and watch as the days go by.
But for Nete Hangel, 18, it is all about coping and being entertained amidst her sufferings.
Nete’s Story Of Pain
Since Nete was 11, she has been experiencing chronic pain. However, the doctors repeatedly said that the pain was all in her mind. At 14, Nete was diagnosed to have a rare disorder called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
“I’ve become a boss at walking/ floating down stairs without my left leg touching the ground/ stairs,” she says. “It’s not because you forget it’s there (not even on good days) but you kinda learn to accept/ ignore it and not think too much about it.”
Unfortunately, Nete has to give up another passion: sailing. Because of her condition, she has to let go of her goal to become a ship officer because her body cannot tolerate the pressure of her dream job. With the pain etched in her legs, it is quite impossible to obtain the necessary education and training that she needs to reach her dreams.
Now, she also has to cut down her education as she goes to school to learn Math and Physics three times a week only. Though it seems like a lot less pressure, it is not. Nete has to endure an hour-long travel to Copenhagen just to get to school.
Seeing The Light
There was a time when Nete had to take 24 medicines for pain. She then started getting into what is called “Perler art.” This new hobby entails beading with plastic heat-fusing beads to make colorful and creative images. The term “perler” was derived from the name of a popular bead brand.
Nete said beading has become her way of clearing her head and coping because it is something she can continue to do despite not being able to think straight due to painkillers.
Nete’s Special Pokemon Bead Art
Nete has started with a huge Pokemon bead art, with the goal of capturing all the 151 first-generation Pokemon in one fantastic project. The finished product is said to stand about seven feet in height and will be made up of over 100,000 beads! So far, the project has 45,000 beads.
Here it is:
Tada! All 151 original Pokemon characters in one bead project!
Look at that detailed work!
Another closer look.
She was able to have a chance to work on this huge Pokemon project when she had to do therapy sessions four times per week.
When she finished her therapy and was able to walk again, it was time for her to get back to school and use her regained energy for her studies. The Pokemon art had to sit down for quite a while then.
Online Perlers
Even before doing the Pokemon bead art, Nete has been an active member of online perler beading communities, specifically in Tumblr and Deviantart. She said her online friends have been very supportive of her.
Pokemon art in progress
She also has an Adventure Time bead project, which contains more than 26,000 beads.
Advice To Other Perlers
With the seemingly advanced skill of Nete, it is but fitting to ask for her advice to those who want to start or heighten their beading hobby.
She advises the use of more and more colors. It is important to have a wide array of colors in your palette so there will be tons to choose from. Nete personally tests the color combinations of her projects in small samples before she goes on to make it in the huge canvass. She wants to see how well the colors match before starting with the projects.
She recommends expanding your bead color collection, even by just one or two at a time. She said she is currently planning to expand again and hopefully add some Artkal beads when it becomes available in her country, Denmark.
The quality of beads is also an important thing to look at. Different brands have different melting properties and may appear different when placed in a large pattern. Nete particularly uses Nabbi and Hama bead brands.
Modern technology can also help beading enthusiasts. Nete recommends experimenting with the possible outcomes of the photo templates by using computer programs like Perler, which has a tool for creating, editing and using different color palettes for beading projects.
Look at that stack of beads!
And Nete’s most important advice — be creative!
“Never follow a pattern (your own or someone else’s) like a slave,” she says.
If you think that there is something not right with the patterns, change it up a bit! Look at your color palette and seek for better options.
It also pays to ask if there is a need. Beaders online are typically willing to answer questions to aid beginners and other people who want to do things quite differently.
The Bright Side
Seems like all things are going in the right direction for Nete. Aside from beading, she has also started teaching sailing to aspirants. Although she cannot sail competitively anymore, she still has their family boat and the opportunity to share her knowledge.
She has also started pole dancing. She discovered that it is one of the sports that she can perform without severing her leg pain.
She also fancies Harry Potter.
Hufflepuff bead art
Slytherin
Surely, Nete is one amazing young lady and is a testament that we can make our lives useful and fun amidst pain and struggles.
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Source: Daily Dot