Craft For Health

The Big Black Balloon of Depression by Violette Clark

I suffer from depression from time to time. One of the things that has saved me is art - time and time again. Recently in a telephone coaching session my coach asked me some questions about how I felt after getting certain things done. I pretty much dismissed what I had done feeling like it was not enough. Very casually I mentioned "the void" and then she was off and running with it. I noticed I was quite annoyed because I did not want to talk about the void at all - I wanted to talk about my business, accomplishing more, being more organized etc. But she kept at it asking me what colour it was, what shape it was and where I was in relation to it. I had to muster all of my energy just so i didn't scream "I DON'T FREAKING WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE VOID OKAY????!!!"

What emerged was the big black balloon. It was interesting to me that I was on top of the balloon and not inside it. As we were talking I was mindlessly doodling - what emerged was a tiny person ontop of a large black balloon. My coach and I established a few things about the balloon story and I pretty much decided that it would become a little comic strip. That was my homework.

So yesterday I was in a very dark place - it was pouring down rain, the sky was dark, all of my lovely flowers were being mushed and the magic garden did not look so magic anymore. I decided that I  needed to either:

1. Go back to bed and pull the covers over my head or

2. Make the black balloon comic strip.

Thankfully number  2 won out.

What can you do when..... 
you are visited by the big black balloon or the dark dog or whatever name seems to suit your dark moods and feelings? Why not remove all distractions such as the radio, TV, text messaging, internet surfing, phone calls and sit still. Listen to yourself. You have an inner knowing that will tell you what to do next. Create a piece of art around the guidance that you are given. When you are stumped simply ask "What's next?" If you listen closely you will find the answers.

My name is Violette Clark and I'm am an artist passionate about creating art journals.

The Emotional Side of My Colorful Craft by Nancy Medina

 
  
When I was little, I used to get into trouble in school for doodling in the margins of my assignments. Today, I travel throughout the country photographing nature and gathering inspiration for my paintings of flowers and landscapes.

  

I have always felt an immediate emotional response to bright color and the beautiful shapes of nature. I have dreamed of blank, white canvases that stretch for miles, endless palettes of color, and all the time in the world to create. The studio was not an escape from the memories of my father, but a celebration of his life, and a quiet place to work and build, two of the things he spent so many of his hours doing from his own shop on the organic farm where I grew up.

I switched from charcoal pencils to oil paints when I was 30, the year that my father died. Since then my art has grown from a hobby into a business, and its pursuit is my life work and passion.Iall with bold color and just a touch of whimsy. Most of all, I love creating large painted indoor gardens that cheer the heart with pots of flowers in all the colors of nature.
 
 I like to think that my father would be proud of me today, and how far I have come in my journey of art. At times working in the studio is a quiet, solitary pursuit. But sharing it with people, and seeing their eyes alight at the color and the shapes, makes all the work a joy.

My name is Nancy Medina andI'm an artist, animal rescuer, and pug mom who creates original oil paintings from Flower Mound Studio in Texas. I specialize in florals, landscapes and pet portraits and you can learn more about my art at My Web Site http://www.nancymedina.com/ or on
My Blog: http://nancymedinaart.blogspot.com/ 
 

Crafting For the Mental Health of Others by Tara Reed

Rubber stamps have been a staple in my life for years.  In school, I always beamed with pride when I would see the smiley face stamp on my papers or the "Great Job!" star.  I loved pressing the rubber into different colored inks and putting them on paper, with no particular rhyme or reason, just to do it. The process was like magic.

Then I got older and the way I looked at and used stamps changed.  Instead of joy with no plan, my stamps became decorative elements on scrapbook pages or hand made cards.  I can't begin to tell you how many holiday, birthday or everyday cards have gone from blank to beautiful, thanks to rubber stamps and stamp pads.

 

More years ticked by and I started designing for a living.  How fun to have my own art on rubber stamps!  This makes the process of stamping, shading, coloring, sending and gift giving that much more fun. (Although I must admit that the time I have to actually USE the stamps has gone down now that I am designing them.)

 

Having designed dozens of stamps for Janlynn / Stamps Happen, I am starting to have the joy of seeing what others are doing with my designs.  And thanks to the internet and blogs, it is easier than ever.

 

I recently found a blog post by Mary B. Giemza who used one of my stamps to help keep a smile on the face of her friend whose husband is deployed in the military.  Not only is she crafting for her own health but for the mental health of others -- now this I like!  What better way to show support and concern than with a hand stamped card.  And I believe it did just that since there is a comment on her post that says:  "You should see me smiling right now girlfriend!! I LOVE this!!!!"  (I assume that is from the recipient of the sentiment.) CLICK HERE to see her full post.

 

Times change and things evolve, but my love of rubber and ink lives on.  When things get a little crazy or I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, there is nothing like going back to the simple act of pressing a stamp on the ink pad, then on paper, and creating that one-of-a-kind end result!  

 

May good health and the stamps be with you! 

– Tara Reed

www.TaraReedDesigns.com

________

Links:  

 http://mycardz.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/a-chick-rules-this-roost/

 

http://www.janlynn.com/category_results.cfm?Category=20&Desc=Memory_and_Stamps

Beading and Needlework Amidst Many Moments of Sadness

Mom had reached the stage of dying where she couldn't really converse anymore, her speech was difficult to understand, she was bed bound and she hadn't had anything to eat or drink for about two weeks except water. We knew we were getting close to the end.

So, this day, it was a shock when Mom was adamant about wanting to sit up in the recliner -- we hadn't done that in weeks either. So we moved her to the chair and she was trying to say something and I was struggling to understand. "Water?" She shook her head no. "Pillow?" No. And then, I couldn't believe what I thought she had said...

"I'm sorry Mom, I'm trying to understand. I think you just said that you wanted a cup of tea?"  And she nodded yes.

It was an awakening of sorts. Imagine having had a couple of weeks of minimal communication from Mom and all of the sudden...this! She wanted a cup of tea! It was a moment of joy amidst many moments of sadness.

Well, she couldn't manage sipping from the cup very well. She sputtered and coughed as some of the liquid went into her lungs and the tea dribbled down her chin. But she smiled. She smiled and croaked out, clear as day, "It's good..." which made us all smile together.

Her shoulders relaxed a little more and we sat there for quite a while helping her to hold her cup and to take little sips of her final cup of tea. She died about another week or so after that and never requested another thing.

And on the morning that she died, after we had made the important phone calls and we had that intermittent silence, waiting for the world to show up...realizing that we were in transition to another ritual that would carry us through our grief, waiting for it to start. Because we, the care team, had nothing left to do. She was gone. This woman whom we had loved and cared for to the best of our ability no longer needed us.

The silence was tangible; it felt threatening. Every sound, every tick of the clock was amplified and deafening.

Tea is powerful. It's an Elixir of Life. It is the cheapest therapy I know and it is a universal language of love.

And so, when I have reached the end of my journey, and I can no longer express it for myself --

I hope someone will remember how I like my tea.

My name is Susan Elliot and I used a needle and beads to help me heal through my grief and loss of my mother.  I  hope someone else will think to make their own art, their own design from their heart...it really does help a great deal.

My Heavy Heart from Job loss and Crocheting

 

This story is from Em who used crocheting to cope with her job loss.

  

Dec 9 of each year is a day of celebration for my family; it’s my twin brothers’ birthday.  On that same day in 2008 I was laid off from work.  While the company was experiencing some difficulties we had been assured by management that all was well and that the company would whether the storm and come through it better for it.  At 5 PM that day I got a phone call telling me that my position had been eliminated and that my services were no longer needed.  I was devastated.  I had worked there for 5 years and had been a loyal employee.  I went to my family’s dinner celebration with a heavy heart and didn’t say anything for fear of ruining everyone’s evening. 

The next day I informed them of my situation and just cried.  I didn’t understand why I had been so carelessly cast aside.  For the last 6 months I’ve looked for work and I have yet to find anything, and finances have been difficult.  The stress at times has been unbelievable.  The one thing that keeps me going though is my crocheting and tapestry beading.  

When I crochet or bead I find a solace that brings peace to my soul and allows me to relax.  I get lost counting the stitches or beads and all the days troubles just fall off my shoulders for at least a short period of time. 

 

Crocheting also brings back memories of my Italian grandmother.  She taught me how to crochet when I was 7 years old, and I always get a warm feeling when I pick up a crochet hook.  I can feel her love wash over me as if she were sitting right beside me.  It’s at those times that I know that she’s watching over me and that everything will be alright. 

In the mean time I continue to crochet and bead, and create what I love best.  You can find some of my creations at www.nothingbutstring.etsy.com  and as the name of my Etsy shop implies, it’s the thread of life that holds us all together.  

Let’s turn the chaos into harmony.

The Power of Crafting in Company by Diane Gilleland

In my experience, there is nothing more healing than crafting in a group of people. The beauty of this is, they can be old friends or complete strangers - the craft bridges any gap and creates connection. 

When you're making things, that connection between your mind and hands quiets your anxieties and opens your heart. This works when you're crafting alone, too, of course, but it's especially powerful in the presence of other people. Let's face it, most of us harbor a little social anxiety when we're in a group. But when we're crafting, that mind-hands connection gives the anxious energies a channel, leaving us more relaxed and open to sharing of ourselves. It's a fast track past the small talk and into deeper bonds.

 

I experienced this transformation every month for over six years when I organized a local chapter of the Church of Craft (http:/www.churchofcraft.org). At every meeting, people would arrive, sit down at a big table with strangers, and begin crafting. Two hours later, they looked like a group of lifelong friends.

 

I think local crafting groups can be very powerful in this age of economic and social turmoil. No matter what our differences are, we need each other - we need to cooperate and trade with each other in order to withstand tough times. And we need to better understand one another in order to move forward as a society.

 

And all this powerful change can begin with a circle of chairs, a few cups of tea, and acts of making. 

Sometimes The Spirit Is Willing . . .by Diane Evans

 . . . And the body is really tired.  There are many days when the muse pays a visit, and I want so badly to move myself into the studio and play.  However, the fatigue of fibromyalgia seems to rear its ugly head at whim.  I consider myself extremely fortunate that I haven’t yet experienced the extreme pain that afflicts many people with this condition, so I’m trying to find ways to deal with the exhaustion that seems to propel me to the nearest couch.

 

One thing I’ve learned is that there is nothing wrong with spending just a few minutes in the studio.  I’m now learning to push myself, just a little, to go into the room and do something, even if it’s just handling the fabric, for five minutes.  It’s amazing how five minutes moves easily into fifteen, and, before I’m aware of it, I’ve spent an hour planning a design or appliquéing fabric shapes and it hasn’t been an effort at all. 

 

It’s been said that energy creates movement, but movement also creates energy.  I must remind myself of the truth of this little maxim each time I’m about to surrender to the sleepiness, and create my own energy instead.  There can be no greater medicine.

 

My name is Diane Evans, and I am a retired math teacher, studio quilt artist, and blogger.  I agree with Danny Kaye that “life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.”  My designs are available for sale on my website and I am happy to do commissions –- just contact me.

Addicted to Beads by Amy

Glass beadmaking has pretty much overtaken the other crafting in my life. There just isn't room for anything else, between school, my day job, and the rest of life in general. What I really love about working with hot glass is how much it calms my busy mind. I can spend hours staring into that flame, slowly working the glass, and the worries of the day just melt away. It is a quiet and solitary hobby, and the pace is slow. My pace is never slow outside of my studio... which I think is why it really helps me to unwind.

I have enjoyed making jewelry and beaded items for as long as I can remember. It started with seed beads, because they were cheap, easy to come by, and they managed to occupy hours of my time. I quickly developed an addiction to beads in general. I always found creating things was a great way to keep my hands busy and that helped me to combat stress.

I had seen lampwork beads in the bead stores, and always wanted to learn to make them. One year, my mom got me a beginner's beadmaking workshop at a local glass studio for a Christmas present (actually, we took the class together - although she got into glass fusing and gave up on beadmaking pretty quick). I was completely hooked from the day of that class onwards. When I got to the class, I realized I had no actual idea how the beads I had admired were made... but I learned pretty fast! I came home at the end of that long day with a handful of treasures and I could not stop talking about what I had learned. It turns out, you can take rods of glass, heat the ends up until they melt to a consistency similar to honey... and then shape them around metal sticks to create the most amazingly beautiful beads.

I make glass beads which I sell at local craft fairs, as well as online, mostly on eBay and Etsy. I have jewelry featuring my glass beads in a few local stores, although I make far more beads than I do finished pieces (usually, I sell the beads to other jewelry makers). I have been making beads for about 3 1/2 years now - I took that first class at the beginning of 2006.

Glass seems to have a neverending potential to captivate my interest, because there is always more to learn, and new things to try. It is a mysterious medium and I don't think I will ever be able to completely control the results - and that is probably what I like best about it.

My name is Amy Houston and I'm a glass bead-maker from Victoria, BC.

Painful Shyness Wisked Away in Art Class by Michelle Maule

I suppose I should introduce myself before I start to dive into why I make art, and how it's role in my well being.  My name is Michele Maule and I've been making art for quite sometime now.
I've always loved art. My favorite subject in school was always art. I had art class starting in kindergarten all the way up through high school, and graduated college with a degree in it.

I moved around a lot while I was younger . My dad was in the Navy, so we moved about every 4-5 years. It was never an easy transition for me. adjusting to a new school, with new teachers and classmates was so difficult for me. I was painfully shy and not very eager to make friends...However, when it came time for art class, I shined! My teachers and classmates always were
so impressed with my drawing skills, and it was such a great way for me to communicate.

I learned from an early age that art was one of the things that I did really well, and I just felt so comfortable when I was making it. In high school I got away from it for a long time, in search of an interest that I could someday make a career, and a living, doing. I knew art wasn't exactly something you get into for the pay, and I wanted to be practical. However, getting away from art was
not as practical as I thought. I learned, over time, that art was practical, I could earn a living from it, and it was something that I needed in my life to keep me sane and happy.

I would love to invite all the Craft For Health visitors to read my guest blog posts here each month, so you can learn more about my experiences with art, life, and how/why I became a full time artist!

Thanks!  Michelle

Creating Artisan Jewelry has Taught Me Many Life Lessons by Sally

I started designing and creating jewelry in 2006, shortly after my business partner and I sold our video production company to equity investors. 

For 26 years, I managed up to 65 employees in 5 offices around the country.  I spent my days on the phone and in meetings; analyzing spreadsheets, listening to employees and clients complain and losing sleep over debt obligations and overhead.  Although I loved the company and the people who worked there, I sold it, in part, because the stress of balancing all the spinning pie plates eventually became more of a headache than a joy. Around this time, I even had shoulder surgery from a lifetime of perching that darn phone between my ear and shoulder!  Enough!

After a career of offering a service rather than a product, I wanted to simplify my life and create something tangible; a product that would be beautiful and help people appreciate the splendor and wonder of our planet.  I wanted to work with my hands; relying only upon myself to conceive, design, execute and sell.  I found that outlet in artisan jewelry.   For me, it is a privilege to use the precious metals and stones of the earth to create personal adornments that bring people happiness.

 

Becoming knowledgeable about something entirely new is hard and humbling!  Learning to manipulate metal using fire and sharp tools has been frightening, intense and exhilarating. After nearly three decades of being an expert in my field, it's been quite an interesting experience to be once again a novice!  There have been days when I have thought, "what am I doing and who am I kidding!" I've also stumbled through many failures but I have found that the failures just make the successes  that much more satisfying!

My bucolic studio is perched atop a hill in our backyard.  From there I watch squirrels, hummingbirds and spiders go about their business. I can hear the next door neighbor's baby burble and coo.  And, as I pass by our vegetable garden, I am able to watch the plants grow almost imperceptibly day by day.

I am still struggling to make my new business successful financially, but my mind is stretched learning increasingly complicated techniques, touching the periphery of the serious jewelry trade while also gaining knowledge of social media marketing including blogs, twitter, facebook and more.

Making jewelry has taught me the importance of stretching and learning, even as I creep toward 60.  I have to say though...manual labor has its pitfalls.  Now I have "tennis elbow" from all the hammering I do and I given up entirely on manicures!

My name is Sally Jewett-Brocato and I develop artisan jewelry called Naked-Jewelry.  I'm also a public speaker for business/entrepreneurial topics.