make time to make.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

craft therapy: make time to make.

The feel of textured papers between my fingers.
Ripping those papers into pieces and assembling them with my own hands into something beautiful and then getting my fingers sticky with glue when I attach the pieces one by one onto a card or a collage
Ink on my fingers
Film in my Holga.
Taking a stab at sewing and gardening
Cutting and pasting
Photoshopping
Attempting to make a lemon meringue pie
Writing a book
Sketching even if it's terrible
Writing a letter with a fancy pen
Doing all of things SLOWLY so I can soak up every experience.

My blog is called Craft Therapy. I have never really talked much this title or why I chose it but I think about it often. After writing this blog for a few years now, I thought it was about time to dedicate a post to this subject.

The tag line "make time to make" is a piece of advice I take very seriously. Okay, not so seriously that I would decoupage a picture frame instead of taking my son to t-ball. But maybe so seriously that I would come home from a long day at work, make a quick dinner so we can make it to t-ball, and then get the kids to bed and skip the laundry and dishes so I can spend some quality time with my gocco.

Some days, making time to make can be a really tough thing to pull off. Some I you won't pull it off. But if it's what makes you whole, you will find the time. Whether it means getting a babysitter so that you can take that class you've been putting off forever; Becoming just a little sleep deprived so that you can make the time to follow your passion (I am a firm believer that the best ideas are thought of only after a little sleep deprivation;) Knitting on your lunch break; Crafting with your kiddos; The list goes on. Like anything else, if it means a lot to you, you will make the time to make.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was so excited to be home with him after he was born. I imagined days full of mother and baby bonding, books, baby massage, play dates. Once he was born, and after a few difficult months, I realized that while some days would be very full and satisfying with just being a mom, I needed something ELSE. I thought that starting back at my day job would change things. It definitely changed things, but it didn't change that feeling that I had that something else was missing. Shortly before my son was born, I had started to get really into making collages. It was such a slow, soothing process for me. After a few months of full time mom and a few more months of full time job + full time mom, a funny thing happened: I suddenly felt like I really wanted to make more time for my collages. I felt like I NEEDED to. And then I realized that this is what was missing. I needed to make time to make.

I have always enjoyed creating things but it wasn't until I became a mother that I understood how much it meant to me. Funny how that works.

About half of the people who visit this blog find it by searching the keywords "craft therapy," "craft as therapy," or "what is craft therapy."

Well, now you know what craft therapy means to me.

What does it mean to you?




3 comments:

Francesca said...

Great thoughts. Yes, making time for creativity is vital (and often neglected). Personally I think it's an antidote to everyday 'stuff' and a way to keep sane! :)

Laura said...

Definitely it means working on art projects and leaving the dirty dishes a little longer in the sink! Thanks for a great post Andrea! I think the world would be a much better place if everyone made time to make.

Confectionique said...

Love your post Andrea! You described so much of how I feel about my crafting also! I also love that my kids see me creating/struggling sometimes to finish a creation/finishing a creation-I love that they hopefully see the power in following your ideas.