Happy is the hobbyist in December. When the weather drives you indoors to your workbench or your sewing room. When the holidays provide you the opportunity to share your craft with loved ones. This is the time of year when those who can, do. And those who can’t, say thank you to their industrious friends.
I used to be adventurous about making, baking, stitching, painting. It stemmed from that glorious optimism of childhood, and those happy rainy days at summer camp, holed up in the craft cabin. Sand sculpting, beading, tooling leather, candlemaking, basketry — mastery of anything seemed possible. It was only a question of beginning.
Lately, thanks to social media perhaps, I’m less eager to begin. Everyone seems so skilled in the magical land of Instagram. There’s no filter that captures the effort behind the cookies you’ve decorated so poorly. Or, on the flipside, if you are good at something, show a wee bit of natural ability, the expectation is that you can make this into something MORE than a hobby. A vocation. A way to earn extra money.
Pressure, man!
So here’s to trying. Here’s to beginning. Here’s to the sound of something other than Netflix — clicking needles, buzzing saws, our own inner whirring when we concentrate on creating.
Left image: A friend posted the photo of the bird ornaments she received from her neighbor, who carves and paints them from photos taken of birds he sees on his travels. Right image: A ceramic cityscape, made by my cousin. stamped and glazed by my cousin.
These stockings were needlepointed by Kathy, the devoted grandmother of Chase, Tucker, Beecher, and Jack. Each stocking took a year to complete.
These gingerbread houses were made by Leslie, who uses Google Earth to make replicas of her relative’s homes. (The trick is getting the rooflines right.) She then creates a cardboard template which she saves from year to year. All in, each house takes about 10 hours to complete.
Photos sent from readers of holiday projects.
Which are you? Are you a maker? A baker? A carver or a weaver? Do you stroll the aisles of Michael’s or Hobby Lobby in a happy trance? Or are you committed to a “hands-off holiday?” Do you believe that the world is better off without your efforts?
Top photo of soap making by Viktor Forgacs via Unsplash.