| "Oh, I'm not very creative," is the complaint | | | | |
| of many individuals when approached about | | | | Crafting Today |
| starting up a craft. The truth is that | | | | |
| everyone is creative. Some of us just got the | | | | Today is a new movement, present even among |
| notion in third grade that since we weren't | | | | the very educated, wealthy, and politically |
| the best artist in the class that we weren't | | | | progressive. Betsy Greer coined the term |
| "the creative type." The Creative Type: a | | | | craftivism, a call to shrug off the plague of |
| mysterious individual with messy hair and | | | | mass produced goods available, in turn for an |
| outrageous attire who frequents museums and | | | | appreciation of all things unique and |
| the theatre and mutters tirelessly to him/ | | | | handmade. |
| herself when in public. As legendary as Santa | | | | |
| Claus-and just as fictional. Real creativity | | | | Many still ask why, when it is cheaper, |
| manifests itself in a myriad of different | | | | faster, and more convenient to pick up this |
| ways. Creativity is that urge that makes you | | | | or that dust catcher at your neighborhood |
| want to move the furniture around, for the | | | | Wal-Mart, why would anyone pick up a needle? |
| third time this week. Creativity is the calm | | | | The answer is manifold. |
| that comes over you as you chop vegetables | | | | |
| for tonight's dinner. Creativity is the | | | | Some craft because the activity creates |
| tickle of excitement you get when you find a | | | | satisfaction and gratification in a way that |
| new scenic route to work. As humans, we have | | | | few other forms of entertainment today do. |
| a basic need to express ourselves, and how we | | | | They enjoy both the process of creating as |
| express ourselves is creativity. | | | | well as the finished product. There is a |
| | | | certain amount of pride and confidence felt |
| A Short History of Crafts | | | | when using something made with one's own |
| | | | hands-whether it is a bookshelf or a |
| Crafting has gone in and out of fashion over | | | | crocheted dishcloth. And then there are the |
| the last few decades. In the 1940s crafting | | | | crafters who do what they do for no other |
| was done out of necessity. Because of WWII, | | | | reason than that crafts are fun. |
| making do and using up what you had was a | | | | |
| respected form of patriotism. Middleclass | | | | Perhaps others craft for their |
| women made quilts from their family's old | | | | health-although they may not realize it. |
| clothes, and their children used catalogues | | | | Crafting has a very positive impact on one's |
| or ads to make paper valentines or Christmas | | | | mental health, as it engages the mind in |
| cards. Worn out sheets were made into | | | | creative and imaginative problem solving, as |
| pillowcases, then into handkerchiefs, and | | | | well as the hands. Psychologists and |
| eventually used as rags. There were not the | | | | therapists have taken note, and many nursing |
| malls open in the evening as there are today, | | | | homes and psychiatric hospitals offer craft |
| nor were there the myriad forms of | | | | classes as a potent form of recreational |
| entertainment to be had, so people stayed | | | | therapy. |
| home and worked needlecraft or baked. | | | | |
| | | | Crafting has also created its own community, |
| This mentality continued throughout the | | | | which is a huge draw in our isolated society. |
| forties and fifties, but as the war | | | | Whether you scrapbook or throw pots, there is |
| generation aged crafting changed. Crafts were | | | | likely an association in your city where you |
| something you made in your leisure time. | | | | can join with other like-minded individuals |
| Since crafting was traditionally a women's | | | | to craft regularly. This feeling of community |
| activity, it was tied to domesticity and | | | | extends even within one's own family. Many |
| subordination. As the women's liberation | | | | parents now schedule a regular arts and |
| movement entered the scene, crafting was | | | | crafts time with their children. This is time |
| looked down on as anti-progressive. Mass | | | | well spent-crafting with children builds |
| produced clothing and other articles made | | | | important practical skills as well as |
| sewing virtually obsolete. | | | | interpersonal bonds. |