what a lovely, perfect day-before-birthday i had with sarah. this lake is a short 20 minute walk from her new house and is totally pristine and secluded. we saw a heron swooping around its nest, watched endless dragon- and damselflies, listened to coyotes, and waded in the muck down into the cool currents of the lake. i haven't felt so one with nature in ... well, ever, maybe. i felt so nurtured and healed in that mama of a lake. it may have to become an every-weekend sort of thing.
i'm feeling something shifting... i'm back to eating decent, whole foods (and the occasional, beautiful cupcake) and it's making a huge difference in how i'm feeling. and i've given myself the birthday gift of some creativity coaching with kathy and she's helping me clarify my dreams and goals, gently and encouragingly, going forward with small steps... she is certified in the Kaizen Muse form of creativity coaching and i just love her energy and this process so far.
the first small step was articulating and bringing together the "why" of my work. which is actually taking a lot of thought and sorting, but it's enjoyable and something i really need to know (for) myself. the answer really is that crafting saved me, and continues to save me, and it saves lots of people. so it's the therapeutic value, although even that doesn't seem to get at it fully... to me, it goes beyond that and into a spiritual thing... that includes the connections with other women and through history... the meditative nature of it... with spinning, the connections with the fiber animals... and the ability to create beauty... i'm still working on bringing all these together into a coherent why...
what about you, why do you craft?
Happy Birthday Dru!
ReplyDeleteMay all your best dreams come true!
ah the why of craft... it's the love of catching hold of the edge of a dream and and seeing where it takes me in the process and then finally when it's all done I can set it free into the world and see if it will fly... sometimes it does which is lovely in the sharing & then sometimes it doesn't... & when it doesn't it has usually taught me a big lesson in either how to do a particular technique or as is more often the case I have been too blinkered to where the materials want to lead me & held too fast to what I thought it should look like rather than letting it be what it wants to be... one of the big lessons I have learned of late is the more I take my self out of the work the better it works !
thank you mo! and for these great words about your process ... i love that sort of insight. and what a great reminder, to take myself out of it, i think that will help me a lot..
DeleteHappy birthday to you Dru, 44 is a wonderful number, and I will be 22 years your senior then ;-) !!!
ReplyDeleteYes creativity, crafting is so good for you ! I always get a bit "itchy" if I'm unable for some time to "make" something !
I need this extra energie that's building up to flow into my work (drawing, painting, stitching, knitting .... etc. , I do a lot of things ;-) !)
els, thank you so much for stopping by and the birthday wishes... it's wonderful to be introduced to you and your blog world! but yes i think this is why i'm so restless, the heat has made it hard to work, and the energy is building up!! but i need to remember that's part of the creative process too.
Deletehappy birthday, Dru. and thank you for your words about the
ReplyDeletelake. i remember lakes like that. it's been a long time, but
your words brought it all back...even the scent of them...oh,
that scent.
thank you dear grace! and i'm so glad to have stirred some long ago memories for you!! i have such nostalgia for this lake and it was just last weekend! love to you..
Deleteso glad for your lake day, hope you are having another this weekend. it took me back to the rivers i grew up swimming in. &, oh, the "why". i've been thinking about this since you mentioned it the other day...i do keep coming back to it being a voice to tell stories with. mine & imaginary wished for ones. & the connection, as you said. & ever so grateful that it connected us! xxo
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! You are just a bit older than me. :) Here comes the practical answer...cause I need stuff. The other answer is that I never stop being amazed at the process of turning one thing into another.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to you, happy year ahead too.
eva
What an interesting post, I have been reading it a couple of times, and will read it again. It makes me think about my own work, creativity, craft and art, I do not have answers yet, but what a stimulating way to go 'beyond'.
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated, dear Dru. I hope you have a wonderful year ahead. As far as why do I make stuff? The neurotic answer is that I'm trying to show that I'm a good person, but that's buried very deep inside. I just know that if I didn't make things, I probably wouldn't be here.
ReplyDeleteMaking things makes me calm. .. It has definitely helped me with stress in my life, to the point of sometimes excluding the life around me. It's all about finding the balance and that is what I am continually working on.
ReplyDelete