the other night i got some disappointing news. in an effort to distract myself from the obvious questions (questions like what are you doing with your life mercedes?) i decided to make a craft. if you knew me when i was a teenager you'll think it is ironic that crafting is how i self soothe. for those of you who didn't know me, let me paint a little picture:
inspired by the movie ten things i hate about you i decided i wanted to be a feminist (ok ok it wasn't that lame, some things at church bothered me too). i read the feminine mystic, the bell jar and and some book by bell hookes and figured i had the world all worked out. i was a 16-year-old femi-nazi.
in those days i thought that to be a feminist you had to eschew all forms of domestic arts (which in retrospect may just have been an excuse to avoid contributing around the house). if you asked me the to do a craft i would very likely have given you a lecture about how domestic arts are for desperate housewives; women who needed to distract themselves from the meaninglessness and motionlessness of their lives.
i was a real trip.
funny that i should find myself crafting this evening. i can't really say for sure when my heart started softening towards the domestic arts (maybe around the time i decided that ten things i hate about you was not the coolest movie ever made) but all of a sudden i have craft blogs on my googlereader and when i go to stores i think about how i can knockoff what they are trying to sell me (and not just 'cause i am too cheap to buy it).
sometimes i still think when i craft that i am just "cheating myself with some pretense of movement" but i don't worry too much about that anymore. creating feels good. using my imagination feels good. figuring out how to do something feels good. i'm not necessarily any further along in life, but tonight as i strung the last bead on this little beauty i must say i am pretty darn pleased with myself.
*a necklace to the reader who knows where the quote i used in the last paragraph comes from.
inspired by the movie ten things i hate about you i decided i wanted to be a feminist (ok ok it wasn't that lame, some things at church bothered me too). i read the feminine mystic, the bell jar and and some book by bell hookes and figured i had the world all worked out. i was a 16-year-old femi-nazi.
in those days i thought that to be a feminist you had to eschew all forms of domestic arts (which in retrospect may just have been an excuse to avoid contributing around the house). if you asked me the to do a craft i would very likely have given you a lecture about how domestic arts are for desperate housewives; women who needed to distract themselves from the meaninglessness and motionlessness of their lives.
i was a real trip.
funny that i should find myself crafting this evening. i can't really say for sure when my heart started softening towards the domestic arts (maybe around the time i decided that ten things i hate about you was not the coolest movie ever made) but all of a sudden i have craft blogs on my googlereader and when i go to stores i think about how i can knockoff what they are trying to sell me (and not just 'cause i am too cheap to buy it).
sometimes i still think when i craft that i am just "cheating myself with some pretense of movement" but i don't worry too much about that anymore. creating feels good. using my imagination feels good. figuring out how to do something feels good. i'm not necessarily any further along in life, but tonight as i strung the last bead on this little beauty i must say i am pretty darn pleased with myself.
*a necklace to the reader who knows where the quote i used in the last paragraph comes from.
6 comments:
The day i found myself, a self proclaimed pessimist against the world, knitting i was surprised such a simple task could ease the brain. Ive moved through the many crafts that one could do just ending up with a room filled with cluttered messes of beads, yarn, paint, glue guns and a dress form collecting dust. When people find out my little secret they giggle to themselves. They only wish they had the patience or skills to be a crafter. Be proud. Check out crafster.org
And you should be proud of yourself! Way to go crafty! So glad you created a blog. Miss you!
lv: thank you for checking out my blog and for the crafster.org recommendation. i'll be sure to check it out. isn't it so funny how crafts soothe? man i wish i would have figure it out sooner!
abbie: i miss you too. i wish we lived closer to each other because i have fallen off the running boat and i need someone to get my butt into gear!
i love this necklace. too bad you didn't wait for me to make them with you. i covet it! i need one.
I love that you started a blog too and the necklaces are beautiful! Way to make the world more lovely. I have been toying with the idea of painting....
Hi Mercedes,
Yes I remember/know who you are. That's funny are you still in touch with Lauren (I remember you two hanging out), we just found each other via blogs too. How saweet are you giving me all those great tips for the big apple. I will have to drop you an email, if/when I have more questions I want to squeeze out of you. Thanks a bunch.
Susie
Post a Comment