Often we are involved with crafts as children, in art or sewing classes, but then once we get past a certain age we are no longer challenged to find something new, and something which we might really enjoy given half the chance.
My Mum was artistic as a child, she enjoyed painting and drawing, and as she grew older she experimented with knitting and sewing. However, one thing she had always wanted to try out was pottery, and when she was in her fifties she heard about a local class. Now my Mum was a little lacking in confidence when it came to some things, so she was quite hesitant about going along to the class, as I think she worried that she might ‘not be good enough’. Now isn’t that the voice that we all have in our heads sometimes, that stops us from doing what we really want to.
However, luckily this time my Mum didn’t listen to that voice and she went along to the class. From the very first day she absolutely loved it and blossomed under the excellent guidance and encouragement of her teacher. The pottery class wasn’t so much based around throwing pots but about crafting little scenes, animals and all manner of imaginative ideas from clay. My Mum made little mushroom houses, she made animals such as tortoises and a hippopotamus, the head of Chewbacca from Star Wars (she was a big Sci-Fi fan), the complete range of Winnie the Pooh friends for me and loads of other gorgeous items. One beautiful piece was a Viking Longboat and with this she entered a local Art Competition and walked away with a prize and a very big smile on her face.
Finding this activity, that she both loved and was really good at, was a big boost to my Mum and it gave her more confidence in other areas, for example she went on to really enjoy drawing and painting again, and in fact after she had a stroke much later in life, even managed to learn to draw with her left hand after always being right-handed.
I think we all have some creative ability within us, but perhaps because you were told you weren’t good at something at school, it has overshadowed your thoughts on hobbies and crafts as you have moved through life and made you hesitant to give something a go. I don’t think it is ever too late to learn a new skill, or indeed many different skills.
Sometimes we have to work through a few hobbies to find something that we really enjoy. Classes are often quite cheap, or you can get books from your local library, if you want to try a few different things before investing much money. So from knitting to cookery, from quilting to painting, from photography to dressmaking, there is so much out there to enjoy. If you doubt that, take a look at my Mum’s story and see the love she had for craft shine through.
