On the Satisfaction of Creating
By ModHomeEcTeacher
Photo Image: Liz Cooper
Any crafter, artisan or creator knows that not every handmade project turns out perfectly until you've repeated the process a number of times. Once you think "I could make that myself", there's a pivotal decision to be made, are you really going to try your hand at it, or are you just saying you could do it?
Photo Image: HRSDC (The govenment of Canada supports the Wilmot Seniors Woodworking and Craft Club)
Having an idea, muddling through the materials, tools, skills and actual implementation of a design can be extremely satisfying and cathartic. No doubt that many mistakes are eliminated the second time around, third time is even better, and so on. Some people just don't enjoy the process of working with their hands and never will. Some people want to try to make something but are afraid it won't turn out perfectly, and some people just plunge in and give it a whirl.
If you can shift your perspective from the end product is the product to a fresh new perspective that the process IS the product, making, crafting and creating can provide many hours of creative freedom, enjoyment, problem solving and satisfaction. If the end product is perfect-swell! If it isn't-learn from the mistakes and try again. You're not being graded on this experience.
If you haven't already read this article by Matthew Crawford that appeared in the New York Times Magazine, take a few minutes to read what he says about the challenge and fulfillment of working with your hands, whether it's creating or repairing.
Taking an idea from concept to actualization is a mental process many people have let atrophy or perhaps have never experienced. Don't underestimate the beneficial value of the entire process of creating, building, making, fixing, or constructing something that started with just a faint glimmer of a single idea.
Tagged:
craft Creativity art construction artisan satisfaction fulfillment
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DIY Journal is the weekly column I write for The Indianapolis Star along with periodic DIY photo-tutorials for www....
ModHomeEcTeacher
Thank you. I just had a talk with my brother in law about this. He's a very creative architect and it was refreshing, to say the least, to talk to someone who understands the conceptual life.
CreativeOrigins
(raucous applause) Bravo! Well said.
I agree whole-heartedly. There is nothing better than taking a tiny inkling in the back of your imagination, and transforming it into a beautiful, unique masterpiece. Every moment of the process should be savored.
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