Art, design and craft has always been a passion. From a young age I’d play with different materials to create artworks and this carried through into school and university. At the time, I didn’t realise that what I was actually doing was expressing myself and that can be vulnerable, showing who you are through the work you do/create.
I remember being sensitive about the work I made, any time it was criticised I took it personally. Even today, it can be a bit of a knock but I’ve learned to be confident about the work I create and understand that some of the criticism exists to try and push me further outside my comfort zone. Which is where some amazing work can happen!
When I was still working with the dream of creating my own jewellery business, my skills were being criticised and I started to question whether the jewellery industry was right for me at all. Upon leaving, I enrolled in a jewellery making class, to give me a chance to craft without judgement. This confirmed that designing and making jewellery was what I wanted to do, I loved seeing what everyone else made too — the community and support from everyone was so encouraging!
The act of crafting, for many people, is a chance to escape, to be ourselves, have some solitude, and to express ourselves, our thoughts, our feelings, our voice. Through regular practice, our confidence in our own skills and abilities will grow, by trying new things and failing, we learn, we try again. By having support from like-minded people, we can create a supportive community that encourages us to show up and keep doing things that bring us joy!
For me, each technique and process is almost meditative. My inspirations are connected to my identity and heritage. Through regular practice, craft becomes a mindful activity that allows me to explore my roots a bit deeper and understand more about myself too. Working on being more confident takes time (it’s still a work in progress for me too!), but art and craft can open up opportunities for us to discover ourselves and express that more openly. With the right support from the right community, our confidence will grow.
I’d love to know other ways that craft has helped you, let me know in the comments if you’re happy to share.
If you’d like to give making jewellery a try, have a look at our upcoming workshops where I’ll support you on this journey.