More Thoughts

I have been listening to craft pod casts for about seven months now. It never occurred to me to sit at my computer to listen to pod casts, as I usually sit in front of one all day. Yes, I know some of you would love to do this, but much of what I do is data entry....BORING !

I tend to be conservative when it comes to the latest electronic do-dad, so I didn't own an MP3 player and I might add, neither did either one of my kids !
It took an act of Christmas kindness to shake up our worlds. My younger kid begged and pleaded with one of her uncles to gift her with a Zune. She had seen this on a TV program and coveted it ever since. Well, the more expensive toy was not gifted, rather a mid-line Sandisk was received. This became the gift that everyone wanted to "play" with during the holidays, as none of the adults present owned one at the time. Needless to say, this started an avalanche and we now have all have stepped into the modern era.

I needed to upgrade my cell phone right after the holidays and ended up with a Motorola phone that was itunes capable. The older kid bought an ipod nano with earned money and the uncle ? He ran out and not only bought himself a Sandisk MP3, but upgraded his ancient computer so he could upload songs !

I have a very long commute to work each day and although I do ride a commuter bus, I still found it difficult to do handcrafts or read, as I sometimes have a problem with motion sickness. So, what better solution than to listen to craft pod casts !
Not all of them are worth listening to , in my opinion, but some do inform and inspire. They get you to get off your duff and get you to crack the paint, beads...or whatever. Listening to some pod casts helped me realise that while I still do not really consider myself an artist, by my definition, I am creative.

I don't have the philosophy that some younger folks have, that everything creative , that they do or attempt to do, is amazing and brilliant ( some people say that this is the result of my generation praising every little thing they did ! ) . Many generations of folks did these same things day- in and day- out almost every day of their lives without even thinking of it as being creative. One example: my mothers response when I told her I was learning to knit socks, about thirty years ago..." Good Lord....why would you want to do that ? You can buy any kind of sock you could ever need ! ". This from a woman who, willingly at that time, knit sock for the troops during WW II.

I will eventually list my favorite pod casts on the blog, but if you haven't checked them out, do yourself a favor, sign up for itunes ( its free ) and try some craft pod casts ( they are free as well) it just may get your creative craft/art mojo working.

tchuss

Oh...and PS: I did eventually purchase an ipod video.....just in case all you future videocasters out there are ready to launch some great stuff...I'll be ready !

Just had to do this......

I have been making things as long as I remember. Both of my grandmothers and my mother were skilled in handcrafts. In fact, my English grandmother attended the Royal School of Needlework, many years ago. I still have a few items that she made. My American grandmother, sewed, crocheted, knitted and was skilled in most of the things that most women were during the early 20Th century.

But of course, I "came of age" during the fifties and sixties during a time where girls were still taught home economics. This certainly influenced me somewhat, but my mother was my main inspiration.
The hippie "back to the earth"movement struck just at the right moment for me and I never looked back. Besides the fiber arts, which were truly "primitive" back then, I traveled all around the country studying at different craft schools. I was not interested in settling for the traditional college route, although I do have some regrets about that !

I was also self-taught in many crafts, picking up books and making my way through them. There weren't that many books out there, so I had to search really well to find them. Working for a bookstore didn't hurt, as I was able to buy most of them with my 40% discount !
As my life evolved, some of the crafts I had learned ebbed and flowed, but I have always had the need to create.

I do have a fiber blog, so this blog will concentrate on all the other creative things I enjoy. Some of which are ceramics, painting, drawing, jewelry, and as it is rather late...or should I say early, as it is 2:05 am EST, other crafts that just escape my feeble mind at this time.

More to come, pictures etc... and probably things my kids do, as they above all, are my finest creation !

tchuss