Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.”
-Dale Carnegie
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Besides jewelry, my most prolific hobby is sewing. At last count, I've sewed 7 skirts, 5 dresses, 5 tops, 1 blanket sweater and 2 pairs of leggings (the last two were even my own pattern).
Some would say that I’m a serial hobbyist— I love to learn new trades and most of them derive from creating something. I am constantly reading/researching/watching videos/asking questions about a different art practice.
I tend to find something that piques my interest, research it to death, learn how to do it (often by teaching myself and/or finding some poor soul that will answer a million questions)….then I either find that I get bored/sick of repeating the same activity or I am obsessed with learning how to do every facet of said art form.
Obsessive Hobbies
My newest sewing creation-- metallic leopard print leggings.
Thus far, I have obsessively learned (and, of course, continue to study) knitting, jewelry, sewing, and leather work (listed in the order that I became obsessed). I continue to be engrossed with jewelry, sewing and leather but knitting has gone by the wayside. [I should mention that I am also impatient and results-driven, I am an instant satisfaction fiend and knitting is a victim of said impatience].
Novice Hobbies
I learned flowers from the best of the best, The Byrd Collective, this past fall.
My first weaving project, a scarf. I have big hopes of incorporating weaving into my new accessories line, launching this spring (fingers crossed).
I also have a few hobbies that I’ve learned a bit about and am hoping to expand on in the future. These practices include weaving, painting, pottery and flowers/floral arrangement (and probably 20 others that I can’t think of). I’ve taken classes in all but, unlike jewelry and leather, they don’t come as easily to me and I feel ill-prepared to teach myself.
I can feel my soul filling up when I’m learning/practicing/mastering a technique or art form. There is literally nothing else that I’d rather spend my time on than creating. I am the best version of myself, and most satisfied/content/happy, when I’ve spent my time creating something.
Not Yet Hobbies
My friend, Becky, does the most amazing, inspiring hand-lettering (and illustrating). She is seriously talented.
I’ll leave you with a list of what I’d love to learn and know nothing about — watercolors, hand-lettering/calligraphy, photography, graphic design and so many others.
As an aside, I’d also like to improve on less tangible practices, such as my writing. For reasons I don’t understand, non-tangible art is less compelling and motivating for me and I struggle to practice them (this also applies to photography and graphic design).
Tell us: What are your favorite hobbies? What’s on your list of must-learns?
-JCM
**Unbeknownst to me, Sar wrote a post on Thursday about creative hobbies that she has been learning/practicing, you can check it here. You know what they say, great minds think alike.
And I'd have to agree with her, my interest in learning new crafts is directly attributed to our mom. I'll have to write a more detailed post about it someday, as all of the art I practice has been practiced already within my family (I briefly mention it here).