One of my grandmothers taught me how to crochet when I was about nine years old. I made lots and lots of square and round shaped things. The other grandmother taught me how to sew. I created teeny, tiny clothing for my Troll (doll) figures out of her discarded scraps of fabric, sewed with a needle and thread, or wrapped the figures in yarn. (I learned how to knit, weave, and spin my own yarn on a spinning wheel much later.)
BOTH of them encouraged an appreciation of things handmade, as well as a love of reading, planting/watching things grow in the garden, and of making music.
So I wasn’t too surprised that when it came time to select a career path, that it would’ve been in making things by hand…and to encourage children to do the same. Maybe my parents were (surprised) and might’ve thought I’d do something other than become an Art Teacher, but then again…maybe they knew it on another level. For three decades (yes!) I could say that I got PAID to draw and color pictures with kids, and worked with clay, paint, as well as a variety of other art materials.
I was naturally drawn to the area of fiber arts, and pulled toward learning a great deal about Traditional Appalachian handcrafts and music-making. Here are a couple of “selfies.” (My hands at work/play.)
And I can’t say that I’m through learning new things, either. I have a six foot table in my work/studio space for current writing/research projects which is covered in–books! A recent find is a publication about earth pigment paints and yes, you can make paint out of clay, dirt and natural materials. Another book is a “how to” book on a Scandinavian fiber technique called nalbinding, which is a forerunner to knitting. When I found out that a very substantial part of my ancestry profile included regions well known for their fiber related, handmade handcrafts…well, I was all over that!
I hope you find activities you enjoy doing and that you make time to do those things as often as you can. Enjoy the journey, learn something new, and Happy Creating!
Paula B. Puckett 