I have been looking at all of the quilts and other things I have made recently. I am not gonna lie there are a lot of items in my house that I have made. I have a stack of quilts to bind, some to long arm and many finished to use. I have a little box of paper I have painted , drawn or colored. I have several sketchbooks and art journals. I also have bins of craft and quilt supplies. I have knit and crocheted items I wear in a dresser also!

I haven’t mentioned the collections of things I have. Some on display, others stored because they had their time in the sun. I love them, enjoy them and don’t want to get rid of them either. I find them inspiring.

I was overwhelmed by how much time and money this all represented.

I really had a good think on this. I had all of the emotions come to me. I felt guilty. Maybe I should be spending my resources on “more productive” things. What ever that means.

Maybe I should be doing things other people do like volunteering, decluttering my house of all its maximalism , or making extra money by doing a side hustle.

“Maybe I should” thoughts turned to “why do I create and make things” ideas. I have found others who wrestle with this , too.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Karen Elaine (@karenelainecreative)

People make art and crafts for so many reasons. I think it is also important to share why because there is a lot of pressure that we pursue things that make money or it can be looked at like wasteful, purposeless or squandering resources.

I don’t believe that is true nor healthy! So here is the list of things that I came up with as why I create things. I am not as eloquent as Karen in the ig post but here we go:

I love to play with color and textiles because they are beautiful

creating things helps me stay grounded and mindful in the present moment

I am out of my head and into my hands

Making improves my mental and physical health

it’s brain exercise and good for me

Art and creating helps me cope with feelings, express myself without using words and process what is going on in my Mind, body and world

I love Karen’s post. It got me thinking and I love that art helps us to connect with others in this world. So good.

That’s why I create. It’s an investment in my health. I am not embarrassed by the time , money and mess I chose to have because I love having a creative life.

Vicki