In today's techie world, we see beautiful imagery in the swipe of a finger multiple times a day. Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Google images flood us with visual stimulation though not all good, but that's left to your opinion. I love that our world has opened up like this. In my lifetime (only 35 years), I've gone from learning by story from books or photos from family and friends to seeing photos from people across the world in a matter of seconds. So many different perspectives, so much beauty. In our house it comes to us on a shiny screen, usually an iPad. We are holding in our hands this mini computer and looking into someone else's world. It's so easy to forget these are tangible things. The time it takes to hand make something, the textiles in our small world, the soft sponge, our toes on the hardwood floor, the physical act of stirring, rolling out, and cutting cookies. I am going to try to be more mindful of this in the New Year. I got into making cards and invitations because I love receiving them. I love the smell of paper and ink and holding it in my hand. I keep almost every card I've been given. I'm trying to downsize, but I just can't part with some of them... especially those with handwritten notes from loved ones no longer with us. I don't care if I move a box around filled with these type of things for the rest of my life. I can get them out, hold them, read them, and put them back. I find great joy in it.
I try to think up sensory play for Aria which usually causes a huge mess but that's Ok. She needs to gets her hands dirty instead of always swiping her tiny little fingers across a shiny screen. My dad took the time to make a beautiful kitchen for Aria for Christmas. Every time we play with it together, I see how much joy it brings us both. The hours of work my Dad put into it are not lost on me. There was always a project going on in the house and we learned by helping. I hope Aria learns this way too. She likes to help me print by pulling down the lever of the press. I usually give her a print and she'll crumble the paper or just run it through her fingers.
As a consumer, I try to look for things that are hand crafted and made by a person instead of a machine. Not everything obviously, there are a few things that are made better by machine. We should appreciate the time and energy put into items that were created by a person. This is one of the many reasons I LOVE Etsy. It's really easy to find unique hand crafted beauties.
Thank you for all the wonderful support for my handmade business. hyc Creative had a great 2013 and I'm looking forward to a more creative 2014! So, Create On friends. I want appreciate your work too!
