The need to make Part 2

For the past couple of years, I have been wondering what is it that makes people need, not just want, to make things.  Art things.  Crafty things. Knitty things.  Anything, really.  When you know that machines can do it for you, what is it within us that is just like a petulant little child that just has to create and must create RIGHT NOW!

I am interested in your comments on this as I think it will give myself and others interesting insight into the creative spirit.  Type away, my friends!

Comments

[Rosie]

I don't know what it is that MAKES me or other people want to create. Maybe it's our way of trying to make sense of the world and our lives? I don't know, but I love it, and all I want to do is nurture my creative drive!

[Cassandra]

Good for you, Rosie! I expect nothing less from you.

[Kim]

In much the same way as I don’t remember learning to walk or beginning to breathe, I literally don't remember a time when I didn't make things. It's the way I express myself. There are things I can say with something I've made with my own hands that I can't say with words. My own art/craft that comes from my own brain and heart shows how I think and how I see the world. It’s as though the thoughts go straight from my brain to my hands and come out in a form of expression that I can’t recreate any other way. It's something that needs to come from my body, usually through my hands. I tried dancing for a while...it wasn't the right expression. Music...hell, I have a degree in the stuff and dedicated most of my formative years to the study and execution of it, but again, it wasn't quite right. But making stuff with my hands was always there as well...with paint and dye and cloth and wood and metal and glass...weaving, twisting, stitching, looping...constructing fabric and surfaces from string and sticks and fibers...creating something from nothing...that is where I excel and where my true self comes out. It's what makes me feel alive, more than breathing does. I know it better than I know anything else. I am not fully and completely expressing myself without the ability to create with my hands. There have been periods of my life when, because of injuries, I've had to stop and I haven't been able to use my hands. For anything. And from time to time, it still happens. I have to stop using my hands. And it is like being silenced.

At one time, I was working on a piece for an exhibition that wanted textile works that show family history. I’m sure that they were looking for quilts and samplers and other traditional works, but I’m not a traditional person. So what I wanted was a piece that visually represented the people in my family in a way that meant more than signing their names and dates of birth and death. In doing research to find common links between family members that would tie the piece together, I realized that every single member of my family, for as many generations as we can remember, did some kind of handwork…usually textiles. Even the men. When I think about my parents and grandparents how I remember them spending their time, they were always sewing or stitching or knitting or weaving…so in the end, I don’t think I had a choice. It’s in my blood.

[Cassandra]

Kim,
That was so beautifully written and so easily understood. Thank you so much for this contribution.

[Florida princess]

This is a great question . I’m not a creative/crafty person. I don’t paint, draw, sew have musical talent. I am trying to re~learn how to knit tho. In the future I plan on learning how to sew and draft my own patterns.
The reason I am learning how to re~knit is I do not like what the garment industry is trying to sell me. This is the same reason I want to learn how to sew and make my own patterns. Even tho I have no talent, I luv fibers, fabric color & texture. This is the reason why I want to make stuff or create stuff. I look at things often and think oh I like that kinda, sorta but I would change this, this and this about the item.

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[Ayse]

I have always felt a strong urge to create because I feel like I'm worth something. As if my value is determined by what I can contribute.

In addition to that, there's another aspect where I just feel happy, and proud of what I made. I think that's the unique joy of creation that I can't get anywhere else.

It's also like a baby. I mean, it's mine.

Btw, I was directed here from your post on Ravelry (I'm idyllwild there)

[Loes]

I've been playing around with this question for some time as well. If you're interested, you can read my view here: http://www.secretwishjar.com/writing/the-need-to-create.html

[Sharon]

Interesting topic! (I'm on Ravelry too - 'yarnimals'). I've always loved making things. I don't know if it's just 'in you' or if it is all about how you are brought up - I don't know. My Dad has always been good at making stuff - I think I get my attitude for feeling 'able' to do things from him (if that makes sense?!). I mean, I don't think I'm afraid to try new things on my own - it's always good to learn directly from other people but I'm a great believer in learning from books (and the web!). I'm not sure what I'd do if I coulnd't be creative!

[fringe-jedi]

Cool Blog! Felt like chiming in quickly..
I think everyone has a desire and a need to create, though obviously not all creations are deemed artistic. Our desire to create I believe stems from our desire to be known, be loved and to feel relevant. Creativity is birthed from our knowledge of our mortality and our ability to simultaneously be aware of our eternal nature all at once. There nothing as close as tapping into the divine as when we create. I think of creating as almost a true sixth sense if you will. To know that we have the ability to shape, inspire and impact the world with beauty is a powerful concept that many artists grapple with. Creating helps us to feel like we have the ability to be part of a complex and intricate world in which we really don't understand.

[Cassandra]

That was so beautifully written. You have obviously spent time thinking about this very issue as I don't think the answer you have just given would have been so wonderfully expressed. Thanks for this addition, fringe-jedi.

[holly cazabon]

Creating to me is as essential as breathing. I went far too long without creating anything, had shoved down my inner child till she almost suffocated and now, she is a raging passion that cannot be stopped, her thirst in unquenchable and I am but a helpless love slave to her, we have to create, it is essential to my soul living in the NOW.