A Crafty Life » Lifestyle

Touch A Life Rescues Child Slaves

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:03:41 +0000

Part of my search for a different 2nd half led me to stories of women who have reinvented their lives at More Magazine. One such story really touched my heart and should be shared. Please read about Pam Cope and her how she came to be rescuing children through her Touch A Life Foundation

Another agency that does similar work probably on an even larger scale is the International Justice Mission Please check them out too and see if maybe you can provide help in whatever way you feel is right for you. Thanks.

Playing with Yarn

admin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:56:48 +0000

Between glass, beads and textiles, fiber crafts seem to be winning my attention lately. I guess that’s going back to my roots, as I learned to knit when I was 5 and was sewing my own clothes as a teenager.

My daughter and I have started a project for her dorm room to cover up the horrible, cold vinyl floor. Her residential high school used to be a hospital 100 years ago and while future students will benefit from the new campus that is in the planning and fund raising stages, for now, they make do.

The project is a latch hooked rug, about 5 ft. x 6 ft., so kinda big for a craft neither of us have done in years. She chose warm, soft caramel and maroon chunky acrylic yarn and we are cutting our own 2 1/2″ strips to hook. I’m winding the yarn around a slim spatula that has a convenient slit in the middle which fits scissors perfectly, to cut multiple strips at once. We split the backing in half so we could each work on it at the same time without getting in each other’s way. Here’s a photo:

Dorm Room Rug

That’s Charlie, a stray who found us last November in the engine compartment of our truck after we had driven 10 highway miles. We heard his tiny scared little mews when we got out of the truck and I was so afraid that he was injured, but apart from being understandably terrified, he was fine. He now lives a safe, pampered, inside life and I bang on the hoods of our vehicles before we start them up in winter.

This project, borne out of the necessity to not spend $300 on “the perfect rug” she found has sparked an interest in traditional rug hooking, the kind where you pull wool loops up through linen, rug warp or monk’s cloth with a simple hook (not a latch) to create a painterly images. Most of the artists doing this work lean toward the primitive style that originated on the eastern seaboard, but there are some doing more comtemporary work and this is the direction in which I would go.

New Thinking

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:03:47 +0000

In figuring out this crafty life stuff, I’ve researched and read and analyzed to the point of inaction. Analysis paralysis is not unusual for me in the least and I suspect I may have missed my natural calling – some form of research compilation – to pass on to someone else to actually do something with, of course.

One thing I realized is that those who are successful at living a crafty life have multiple streams of creative income: selling work in various online and off venues, teaching, marketing their “how-to” products, testing and recommending (or not) new products and resources, representing craft manufacturing companies and travelling to train or support their wholesale customers and many more, I’m sure.

We’ll get more into that issue later. First of all, before even attempting a lifestyle change, forget everything you’ve been told about art or crafts being just a hobby and you can’t make money from playing. Over and over, established artists talked of being creatively blocked by well-meaning family and friends early in their lives. That’s the standard thinking, right? Well, don’t believe it. Perseverance and passion for your work can make things happen. Now, I’m not saying you’ll be able to buy an island and live the life of a multi-millionaire, but that’s not the point, it is simply to have the time and funds to create, while living decently, whatever that means to you.

The other thing to get over is the “but is it art” thinking. Please, have you seen some of the work labelled as art in the well-funded arena of public art? If it comes from your heart, from your spirit, expresses something, then it is art and will be appreciated by someone. Don’t let people (family and friends primarily) demean your work choice, especially those who don’t have a similar creative spirit.

While learning new thinking, I discovered several new to me art forms. As a victim of art/craft ADD, that too is not unusual. I mean no offense to those who live with the daily challenge of ADD, but simply, I have trouble settling on one form and frequently jump from one to another and back again. I guess that indicates I haven’t found my heart niche, though the one craft I always return to is bead embroidery.

Fused glass bead embroidery pendant

We’ll talk more about the others next time. Meanwhile, here’s a good article on the 6 steps of change that came to me today from womem to women.

http://www.womentowomen.com/womenshealth/howtomakelifechanges.aspx

What Is a Crafty Life and How Do I Make One?

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:38:59 +0000

I have a certain picture in my head of what a crafty life might entail and certainly, things I would like it to be. How to achieve it though, is is a bit of a mystery, sort of like a maze, I guess. I can see part of the path, but then it turns and gets fuzzy. Have you created a life you would call crafty? Tell me about it and how you got there.

First, what is a crafty life? To me, it is more than making a living from your chosen skill, it is filling your life with things, people and experiences that synergize with who you are. For instance, my daughter always notices that creative people are friendly and we can usually connect fairly quickly, whereas, there’s more work involved in getting closer to non-crafty types, for me.

Of course, you naturally gravitate to those who fit your comfort zone,we learn that early on, but thats not always possible. We currently live in a southern community surrounded by farms, rather than the buzz of a NW city that I’m used to and prefer, so outwardly artsy folk or places are harder to come by. In contrast, farming families have given me a huge appreciation for those who produce our food. It is an amazingly hard life with many uncertainties, but for most, they would have no other.

Back to the subject. So, the basic element of a crafty life is, of course, preferring to spend your time with your art or craft over almost anything else. My kids are grown, so I can admit to that. : )

Next, is figuring out how to transition from a day filled with mostly ho-hum work that earns money to a day filled with crafting that earns money. Then, taking that from the creation space to the people. Then, growing that in to a lifestyle, not just a job.

Hmm? Come along on this journey as I figure this out and feel free to nudge me here and there…gently.