Crafting Art And Therapy

In a strange way, the coronavirus pandemic was like a Year Zero for the world. Everything that was familiar and modern was taken away, well, except for the internet, which gained traction and power. At the same time, it also seemed like people found a better use for it. Locked up inside their homes, people now have all the time in the world to spend on the internet, and you know what they say about too much of a good thing, or for that matter, anything. When we, as humans, have everything taken away from us, we find our way back to working with our hands. We discover in a pandemic, that the human desire and ability to create, is innate and universal. When times are bad and the way ahead seems dark, we find our way back to what makes us happy, and that is to make things, real things we can touch and feel. Regardless of perception, anything that is handmade is art. 

Crafting Our Way To Happiness

In the midst of the gloom, people have found their way back to crafting, what I call, the art of making things with your hands. People are not born to sit in an office and stare at forms all day long, or worry about how to make more money. People have an inherent need to create beauty and work with their hands. There is a satisfaction that comes from crafting that is therapeutic. Carol Sauvion, executive producer of documentary series “Craft in America” said, “The basic reason is you can depend on it. You can learn from it. You can feel a comfort from it.” And that is what people need in these troubled times. How we spend time with ourselves inside our spaces affects and impacts how we perceive ourselves and the world outside. The ability to make something, whether it is for ourselves, meant to be given away as a gift, or even sold, builds confidence and gives a semblance of control. It says, “We can help ourselves, and others.” 

Everybody is jumping onto the craft wagon. So much about crafting aligns with the zeitgeist of millennials. It is a means for self-expression, a way to express creative energy, an activity that brings people together physically and digitally, and a productive use of time, money and resources. For the millennials who tend to value personalization in nearly every aspect of their lives, crafting is the perfect way to leave their signature. For the generations before them, from the boomers to Gen Z, it is a revival of the good old days, when grandmothers made patchwork quilts. In these dark times, we need all the comfort we can get, and if it takes us back to solid and stable times when what we wear and use is handmade with love at home for us, who can argue with that?

Crafting Delivers

The revival of crafting in the 21^st century is the intersection where the old meets the new. Now, raw materials for crafting are available to everyone. No matter your preferred craft, or perhaps you would like to sample all the different types of crafts before you pick one, everything you need can be ordered online and it will be delivered right to your doorstep. All you need is to make a space in your home for it, a space that is perhaps not just physical, but psychological and maybe even spiritual. Research has shown that creating or tending things by hand enhances mental health and makes us happy. The space you clear for a hobby corner might just be the answer to the anxiety and depression about the uncertain future. In the words of D.W. Winnicott psychoanalyst, pediatrician and creativity expert, “It is creative apperception more than anything else that makes the individual feel that life is worth living.”

You can get a soap making kit, pottery kit, stained glass painting kit, epoxy resin kit or even an embroidery set, all with the click of a button. They are literally sold everywhere. You can even go to different sites and compare the prices, look at what is included in the kits, before you make a decision. The internet ensures that even sitting at home, you are spoilt for choice. 

At the same time, you are making a decision that will get you off the couch and away from the television and the refrigerator. Once you start working with your hands, you will quickly become addicted to the sense of creative satisfaction it gives, and be calmed by the focus and soothing nature of the work. After all, there is no one to judge you or give you a deadline. It is just you and the art that comes from you. Perhaps there is another lesson here, how you judge your own craft and art is an echo of how you judge yourself. Be gentle and compassionate. It comes from you, and it can only get better. And you have time.