Finding a Hobby in Craft

Last week, I finished up making several different types of beads. This week I am working on making some hemp jewelry for my sister for her birthday. I had motioned in an earlier blog that she really loves hemp, so I cannot wait to see how much she likes the anklet and necklace I am making her. I will be using the only glass bead I bought at Hobby-Lobby. I will also be using the spiral hemp knot pattern to make her necklace, so it should be really interesting to see how that’s going to turn out. Her anklet I made out of one of the mushroom clay beads I made and the navy blue hemp with a flat hemp knot pattern. The other clay bead that I made last week I will be using to make hemp jewelry for myself. You see this By Hand project has turned an assignment into a craft or hobby of mine. I love to make hemp jewelry now and I have learned so
many things about art, craft, and Do-It-Yourself along the way.

What I enjoy most about hemp jewelry is that I get to spend my time making presents for others. There is no greater joy than seeing the smile on someone’s face when you give them a handmade gift. The pieces of jewelry that I make are so different from ones that are mass produced. Mine are not standardized and they are extremely personalized. I can make a piece of hemp jewelry any way I want to. I found that crafting is a good way to straighten your community and social relationships, when I made some hemp jewelry with my little brother and boyfriend. I have found that I may not be efficient or make a whole lot of hemp jewelry, but the stuff I make is far from being cheap. It is very durable, good quality, unique jewelry. I have found a lot of value in my project because of the durability, style, and price. I can make a variety of different types of jewelry with fairly decent workmanship. My product is somewhat “sound,” meaning that it is made to withstand ware and tare in the way that the designer intended with no hidden flaws. I am not perfect at making these necklaces so I am sure there are some flaws present somewhere. It is also “calmly” because it has the aesthetic look I intended it to have. I have experienced a lot of the pleasures of work. It is calming to do the repeated motion with my hands. The aesthetic value of the piece of jewelry after it is finished is wonderful to experience. Craft is a tangible accomplishment with makes it pleasurable to work on. My by hand project has given me new inspiration to do other DIY things like grow my own garden.

Craft Inspiration and Tradition

Much of craft has to do with inspiration and tradition. In the Barbara Kingsolver book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; A Year of Food Life,” she found inspiration for growing her own food for her family. She wanted her family to be healthy and eat healthy, fresh food. Also, inspired by the horrible conditions of food production, she did not find it overwhelming to deal with all the manual labor and upkeep that came with her craft. The inspiration of a crafter shows a lot about the final product. If the crafter is not inspired at all the final product will not have been made with the time and care it otherwise would have been made with. This is why during assembly line crafting of a product, people do not care if they make a mistake or two. Money driven food corporations do not care what kinds of chemicals they add as long as the food can be preserved for longer. My inspirations for making my craft are the people I have been giving my products to as gifts. I want them to really enjoy my gift, so I take my time on it and make sure I make it is made the best it can be.

Craft is also very much about tradition. Many aspects on the process of making the craft are traditional to Native American crafters. Morel mushroom hunting is also a lot about family tradition. Hemp jewelry has also been a tradition for many, many years. This week I have been inspired by the morel mushroom presentation and I have been making traditional mushroom hemp beads. These types of beads are very popular and are usually made out of glass. Hemp jewelry is a very earthy kind of jewelry which is why many of the bead designs have been inspired my other things in nature. Next week, I will be making some necklaces and bracelets for my sister because it’s her birthday next weekend.

I will include pictures of all my final crafts on my next blog post.

Learning About Craft from Hemp

I have learned many things about craft while making my beads and hemp necklaces. First of all, it can be extremely time consuming. It takes me two to three hours or more to make a couple beads and a necklace. It is extremely frustrating when I cannot get my design exactly right and I have to start over several times. Patience is the key in crafting. I like to find motivations for doing my crafted items, like making a gift for somebody. When I have a goal in mind I feel much more accomplished when I reach it. Farmers have to make very specific goals for when they are going to plant and harvest their crops. Fortunately, my goals can be slightly more flexible because hemp necklaces are always in season. I do think that hemp jewelry targets the younger customers. This is probably because in the 1960’s, when it became extremely popular, mostly young adults made hemp jewelry. I have had a lot of trouble being creative with my bead making. I am not very good at coming up with designs and I am running out of ideas. I am going to start looking online for inspiration as well as asking the people around me what designs I should try making next. The best thing about craft is forming a product you are extremely proud of and you know others will really like it as well.