BASIC CRAFT TECHNIQUES: FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY

It started in a simple way. We were small and eager to learn how to make things. Basic craft skills that we were taught: gluing, knotting and wrapping produced amazing results to our young eyes and so easy to do. Yet as older adults, those once amazing techniques now may seem more banal, dull and elementary.

However for those with physical or cognitive issues, these basic craft techniques remain powerful ways to explore creativity. Although these people are often guided in projects that have minimal challenge yielding results that are also minimally interesting; this can be changed in ways that do not add complexity but does enhance results.

The first example of gluing which, by itself, is taken for granted because it is used so frequently. And then there is the magic of decoupage. Its origin is from Siberia with a 12^th century migration to China, and has been used in a wide variety of products. Starting with papers that could be found in the home (magazine pages, wrapping paper, and pictures) and Mod Podge glue, this is an inexpensive and easy craft that thrives on imagination.  Papers are placed single layer or multi layered on a porous surface (eg. wood, cardboard, canvas) to attractively decorate anything from a greeting card to a chest of drawers. With encouragement, curiosity and a flexible eye, these papers can produce unique patterns and color combinations that are hard to visualize in advance and so much more exciting to watch as it develops.

Knotting is a primitive technique and can be traced to 10,000 years ago.  Now we know the art of knotting as macramé and it also can be interpreted in the forms of knitting and crocheting.  There are opportunities to use basic knots to create simple projects that are exciting to develop.  For older adults with issues, a thicker element that is soft to the touch (eg. nylon) may be easier to work with than some fine hemp. One can also add beads and make a belt, bag or holder for a plant hanging.  In our everyday lives, we know that a men’s tie must be knotted to be worn and a hammock is a knotted fabrication for outdoor “seating”.  Artists have also used knotting in creative ways  for home items:  an artful chair designed by MarcelWanders is covered in epoxy resin for strength. Merrill Morrison works in a different way. She is an extraordinary fiber artist who works with small knots and says  "There is nothing like the tactile feel of the threads, as well as the rhythm of making knot after knot, until my shape takes form. I often incorporate beading to add luster and texture, which allows me a multitude of possibilities in surface embellishment."

And finally, wrapping is a wonderful way to combine elements and/or cover surfaces. If an element is wrapped in a linear way, it produces a effect called coiling and the coiling can be translated to an artful product to create anything from fashion accessories to sculpture. The late fiber artist Judith Scott was deaf, mute and had Downs Syndrome yet made amazing sculptures by wrapping diverse elements together. These sculptures are collectibles and now sell for many thousands of dollars. Another fiber artist, Sheila Hicks used coiling to create huge installations of art. She was the first fiber artist to take this very basic technique and elevate it in her art.

These basic craft techniques (and many others) require a short learning curve but the possibilities are endless.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for. - Georgia O'Keeffe

The Truth about Creativity

There are two main truths.

The first truth is that creativity always introduces something new and therefore is important to our everyday lives as well as society.

The second truth is that creativity always introduces something new and therefore is often feared and rejected.

In addition to the fine and performing arts, we benefit from creativity in every aspect of our lives. For example, over the years the horse and buggy was replaced by well-designed cars, trains and planes to travel across land and space shuttles to explore the world above. Technology has allowed us to expedite and enrich our communication and knowledge; there was no historical substitute because electricity was first evolving in the nineteenth century. Thomas Edison who was refining the incandescent electric light bulb at that time, also invented the first phonograph and held a record number of 1,093 patents. Edison said “I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to invent it”. Steve Jobs who lead his company, Apple, to go beyond computers to create the iPod, iPhone and iPad also looked at the world’s potential needs and took hold of new markets in the process.

There are millions of opportunities we have today because creative individuals used their vision, sweat and time to persevere failures to gain success.

So why fear? What is the psychological factor that makes people shun a new concept or just a new approach to an old method? I believe they have the innate need for homeostasis. No change is the right change. The creative unknown cannot be allowed to displace the comfort of the familiar. It would be too risky, require understanding and acclimation and what if they failed to adjust to it? So many negative concerns swirl through their psyches that they need to prevent it from entering their lives. And so they lose. And sometimes we all lose because they may have the power and/or majority to thwart the flow of creativity.

Think about this; make time to reflect, analyze and respond to situations that are present in your life. A creative life can start with a new route to a regular destination, it can be making splatter pancakes instead of traditional round ones; find things to change and explore in a new way. Keep your mind flexible and open and allow for the unexpected.

The creative world is yours for the taking.


“Five percent of the people think;
ten percent of the people think they think;
and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.”
― Thomas A. Edison

CREATIVE THINKING & POSITIVE AGING

We all have them and we all hate them. Problems. It takes our time, saps our energy and puts us in a negative space. But only temporarily; we usually find a solution and move on. And yet there are times when that problem is actually an unrealized gift.

Alexander Graham Bell said “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Enter mental flexibility, creative thinking and positive psychology; a triad of intellectual ammunition that can transform battles to opportunities. Well known successes have been launched with this approach and our lives are better because of it. Many famous people, despite their initial failures, did not give up; instead they regrouped, rethought, recharged and came back with new strategies. For example, Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he had success, R. H. Macy failed seven times before his New York City store became a valued retailer and Walt Disney went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. These people worked on long term goals; they fell and got up again many times before they reached the finishing line. They were creative thinkers; tenacious with their vision yet flexible in their thought processes. Eventually their success reaped not only financial benefits but also personal satisfaction. Their triumph became our benefit.

As we age, our hurdles are more focused on our physical changes and less on career challenges. Everyone has a different way of coping; meditation, prayer, support groups and denial are avenues that will often alleviate some stress. There are many instances of older adults who realized that if they maintained their focus and looked at their problem from a different angle, a new solution, perhaps even a serendipitous one, could provide a new source of joy to their lives. Here are some examples:

• Don R. is a retired Professor of Literature. He has read and reread classics many times as well as thousands of other books because reading has been an integral part of his life. But when his eyesight began to fail him, real frustration was on the horizon. Enter audio books. Don has become so engaged in this new way of consuming literature that he feels it offers benefits that reading quietly by himself does not. For instance when he listens to poetry he can actually hear the cadence rather than silently read it. So Don, analytical by nature, evaluates narrators as critically as many evaluate authors and enjoys talking about their differences, addressing valuable insights to the theatre of the written word.

• Jane S. loves Florida and her senior community. She always has been independent and enjoyed driving to see friends and doing errands. However when her quick response time slowed down, her stress on the road escalated and her fender benders added to her insurance expense. Jane knew that she had to stop driving but she did not want to stop being on the go. At the same time, her physician was concerned about her weight gain and sedentary life style. The solution was evident: bike riding. Although she had not ridden in years, she took it up quickly again and can be seen pedaling around her community to see friends while losing weight, feeling better and enjoying more confidence in herself.

• Jean E. founded a free dance program for youth; she choreographed and also designed and constructed the costumes. But when arthritis took hold she needed to change her focus. "It had been a long life dream of hers to write a historical novel,” her daughter said. To date, Jean has written four novels and although she is now struggling with macular degeneration, true to her spirit, she is using the “best aids available at this time as she still has a couple more books brewing in her mind,” reflected her daughter. “Her upbeat attitude is an inspiration and shows that age and its physical changes cannot take away our creativity and desires to explore what life has to offer.”

So it’s possible, and definitely advantageous, to take those problems and create new positive experiences. “While simple cognitive processing measures such as those of memory and attention might decline with age, it seems that everyday problem solving does not”. We possess the experience and wisdom to make choices to better our life experience. While disappointments and hurdles will crop up, our decision to mine positive alternatives will support a healthier way of living. Everyday creativity is less about art and more about how we configure these choices and relate to the world around us. Creative thinking and perseverance will reap the rewards of positive aging.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."
~ Confucius