Why I Make
I make, because I like to make. I make because there’s an insatiable desire within me to make…to make everything and anything I possibly can make with my own two hands.
For practical reasons, I make because I like to save money wherever I can, to be used on more fulfilling endeavours - like fun experiences and holidays with the people I love. I also make because I know that when I make something myself, that’s one less thing that needs to be made in a factory somewhere many miles from my home, and potentially shipped half way around the world to arrive on my doorstep.
It’s a beautiful balance between practicality and making for the sheer sake of making to me.
And, I don’t like to limit myself when it comes to what I choose to make. I let inspiration and my own curiosity guide me, always.
I think that’s why this new blog has me so energized. It’s not just a food blog, it’s not just a home design blog, it’s not just a gardening blog…it’s everything, it’s just…me. It’s completely and wholly me, and the things that I choose to make. Having no set category to adhere to feels so freeing, and so exciting.
I’ve made so very many things in my life. I made a scooter out of scrap wood and a piece of a hockey stick when I was a child, and Razor scooters were the hottest thing on the playground (and I didn’t yet have one).
I made a gerbil house out of chicken wire and plywood and used wood chips for shingles when my brother’s two male gerbils decided to show us, over and over, that they were not in fact both males (and we were runneth over with gerbil offspring).
I’ve made clothes out of old tablecloths, I’ve made art of all kinds, I’ve made tables and cabinets, I’ve made businesses (many, now) and I’ve made garden boxes, and christmas cards, and sourdough bread, and unicorn birthday cakes…I’ve made a lot. And I don’t discriminate when it comes to my making.
A Lifelong Addiction
As long as I have been alive I remember feeling the insatiable desire to create.
I remember feeling the sensation of inspiration hitting me as a young child, and stubbornly, following through with my creative plan regardless of what the rules allowed, or if it was almost time for bed, or if my parents told me not to because…whatever the reason was (sorry Mom and Dad). I couldn’t help myself.
I am completely and utterly addicted to inspiration, and always have been.
Sometimes I will come to the realization that days, weeks, or months have passed me by with no new ideas, no “oh yes, this is a GREAT idea and I must execute it immediately” sensation - and I’ve come to realize that those are the months where I have felt my lowest, mentally, in my life.
I’m also starting to realize as I mature, get older, and more conscious of my emotions that I can do things to help myself to not succumb to these extended periods of feeling low and uninspired (more often than not it’s usually sleep - need more sleep).
Me at age 4, making the very best thing to make…a mess!
Creating Throughout Different Chapters of My Life
I do feel as I’ve gotten older, that inspiration strikes less frequently. Maybe I’m just busier, and too distracted to intercept the idea that’s knocking on the door of my brain.
But when I am in moments of stillness, and when I’m listening just enough to hear, when my mind and soul is OPEN - and a new idea bursts into my brain like the taste of citrus exploding on your tastebuds, I feel that familiar, addictive creative energy returning to every cell in my body in a way that nothing else in my life has ever lit me on fire.
I’m becoming convinced that this is indeed the case - that you need to be quiet enough to hear a new idea - because almost always, my newest ideas, and my best ideas come to me when I’m in the shower, or on a long drive by myself, or sitting on the ferry, or when I’m taking my dog for a walk through the forest.
I love the concept of ideas being tangible things…energetic beings, even - flitting around in the universe until they find someone who’s maybe, just maybe, ready to accept their project (and who’s listening).
Big Magic
I recently read the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and it cracked my brain right open and totally changed my perspective and preconceived ideas I had about creativity and making art (making anything really).
Elizabeth starts the book with a very intriguing hook, sharing a moment where inspiration for a new novel hits her, she begins work on it, and then loses inspiration for the book - ultimately abandoning the project.
Later on, she meets with a friend for lunch, another author who’s working on a new book. The two writers discuss their lives and their current writing projects, and come to the shocking discovery that Elizabeth’s friend’s latest novel is the exact. same. novel. that Elizabeth had abandoned years prior. And it’s no basic, common tale that they both started to write. It’s a very specific, very niche, very unusual topic and plot…and it feels magical that the two women, who had never discussed this plot ever before (with each other or anyone else) would have stumbled across the same idea.
They discuss timelines, when Elizabeth abandoned the project, and when her friend discovered the idea…they line up within months of each other. Then they remember what happened between the abandonment of Elizabeth’s book and the conception of her friend’s idea…the two women had shared a kiss on the lips at a writing conference after one of them delivered a beautiful and inspiring talk at the conference. An idea transferred between two creative beings through a kiss. What a concept!
I highly, highly recommend reading or listening to this inspiring story, whether you consider yourself a creative person or not (a topic she delves into, as well - we are ALL creative people, Elizabeth decides…with great reasoning).
Opposable Thumbs
How lucky are we as a species to even be able to make? To craft things with our own two hands, both useful things and also frivolous things, and everything in between? I do know there’s a resurgence of people learning “forgotten skills” happening right now, which brings me so much joy to think about.
We’re realizing that our civilization’s addiction to screens, and ease, and convenience is coming with a cost…a huge cost, to our collective well being, mental health, and joy.
I think human’s have always known there is a cost to convenience, but I feel that we are just touching the tip of the iceberg of the cost of the way the masses are living today.
I wonder what percentage of humans (more specifically, humans in the global north) create something tangible with their hands on a regular basis…whether it’s a pan of scrambled eggs, or a crocheted scarf, or a hand carved dining table.
When I witnessed the mass return to sourdough baking during the pandemic, I felt a small glimmer of hope for makers and humanity during a very negative and dark time for me.
I know for certain that I don’t want to take this gift for granted. The gift to create freely.
I have found joy in the process of creation. Sometimes the experience of making brings more value to my wellbeing and my life than the end product which I have created.
Other times, making feels more like a grind, but the results are worth it - and the satisfaction for simply creating something, anything, is worth it. But one thing I know for sure is when I am making, I am my happiest. And when I am not creating…I feel restless.
Why I Make
So, if I had to summarize all of this, I would simply say that I make to entertain myself, to satisfy my soul and my hands which are constantly itching to live our their fullest opposable thumb potential and to craft something completely new all by themselves in this screen filled digital world.
To craft something that maybe will be beautiful, or useful, or unique, or might make someone else happy. Sometimes my hands make something that is none of these things, but the act of making whatever was made was still enjoyable. Making in itself is enjoyable for me - in every way.
I make simply because making brings me to life. And I hope I can transfer just a teeny little bit of this joyful gift I have been given (to find immense joy in my making) through my recipes, tutorials, and ideas I write into this blog.
What do you think?
Now please, tell me what you think about this idea of ideas bouncing around the universe, from person to person, waiting to find the perfect soul to execute their plan.
Is this nothing more but crazy, witchy voodoo stuff that a talented and persuasive author has created an entire best selling book about? Or do you, like me, somewhat believe in this???
Have you ever experienced anything in your life that made you wonder if there’s something bigger than us all that drives us to create and be creative as a species, or delivers us inspiration?
Please let me know in the comments below! I’m desperate to discuss this fun concept further with someone!
