Why make?

As I am busy making last-minute gifts, while sitting at the sewing machine, I am thinking about why I make things instead of buying them, or why make art and crafts at all. In many cases, its cheaper and faster to buy a gift but instead I am spending a good chunk of my Sunday making stuff.  In my last post I talked about how my creativity manifests in different ways, but today I ponder what purpose it serves.

I am one of those people who believes that creativity sends energy out in to the world. Although I don’t really understand it completely but I think it is important. I wonder if the act of creating distributes energy into the world, or does the art itself spread energy, along with communicating a tangible message from your heart or mind, possibly both. Creating art, one piece or a collection/project of some kind, is like a birth. Just before I am at the cusp of starting or creating a project, I will often dream about giving birth – without the pain, thankfully.

What does the energy do, I wonder. Does it change the world? Does it drive humanity toward enlightenment, one knitted hat at a time? Or, maybe it only changes the creator and furthers us on our soul progression. I remember when I was about twenty, a while ago, I visited a museum in England and had the chance to be up close and personal to a Van Gough painting, Awesome! When I placed my hand in front of the painting, I could feel an invisible energy field around it and this was the first time I ever noticed in my adult life that objects had a living energy.

Maybe we leave a bit of ourselves in our art work, like immortality. Yes, I do think about such esoteric things while making simple presents. I’m afraid that the only energy anyone is going to feel off of my sewing project today is frustration and impatience; Which leads me to wonder if part of the purpose of creating is to use our brains and to learn overcoming challenges, and persevering when continuing seems hopeless. In some cases, I have had to kill a project and move on – so yes, life lessons to be learned for sure while sewing an infinity scarf.

Whatever your reason for creating, I hope you do and you triumph over your obstacles and challenges, and I hope that your creations brings happiness and pleasure to yourself and others.