WWW: On the Value of Making, Designing and Persisting

Although the focus on this article is getting children to be creative, the message about the value of making applies to all ages!

It feels so fundamentally good and right to use our hands to manipulate materials – to use tools to extend our ability; to put stuff out into the world.

The Craft Industry Alliance reports that both the size and scope of the craft industry have grown significantly since 2011. We can conclude, I think, that many are coming to understand the value and pleasure of craft.

Loving the cover of last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.

I really enjoyed reading this report from Clara Parkes’ Knitters Review about the most recent American Sheep Industry professional meetings.

I’m very keen to watch a new documentary series, premiering on Netflix. Abstract: The Art of Design tells the stories of eight different ‘professional creatives’ – an architect, an illustrator, an interior designer, a stage designer, a graphic designer, a car designer and a shoe designer. The episodes document the work and workspaces of these artists.

A chart, suitable for embroidery or cross-stitch, courtesy Kim Salazar. Click on the link to download a larger verison.

I also very much like this version of the quote as a cross-stitch chart: it’s a bit more modern in approach, with bonus pink hats! H/t Kim Werker who told me about it, and it was designed by Haley Pierson-Cox of The Zen of Making.