I recently finished “Happy Place” by Emily Henry. I know I’m a highly sensitive person, but still I marvel at how quickly a cheerful book can turn my mood. This hasn’t been an easy season, so I’m grateful for the jolly tales that are ferrying me through.
At one point a character expresses how much she loves making pottery, a hobby for which she has no aptitude or ambition. She enjoys the process, the surrendering of expectations and suspension of criticism.
This admission made me think about the parade of lockdown-era articles on the merits of play. When we play, we are spontaneous and free, igniting different parts of our brain, centers for imagination and problem solving. The notion dropped off as the world opened up, workhorse mentality prevailed, and traveling became a preferred route to building identity capital. I wonder if we shouldn’t revisit silly little activities and interests instead.
My brother was visiting last weekend and we were discussing how many of our peers have made “traveling” both their only hobby and entire personality. While admirable and adventurous in some, others had adopted a Pokémon card mentality: gotta see ‘em all. “Everyone goes to the same restaurants and same attractions, and tries to outdo their friends on Instagram,” he said. “I used to think people who spent their money on hobbies were weird and now I’d much rather hear about people’s hobbies than their vacations. No one has hobbies any more.”
The conversation dovetailed nicely into my thoughts on play and the creative process: hobbies as a means of unlocking inhibitions and learning more about yourself. A lesson I’ve learned approximately one thousand times that I still manage to forget is how integral creating is to my soul’s health. Yes, exploration is crucial, but I also need to make, without purpose or agenda. To invoke another jolly book: If I don’t create, I become a menace to society. More accurately: I become a menace to myself.
All of this is a lengthy preamble to introduce a catalog of small projects I completed this year– not counting the hundreds of hours I spent with my preferred hobbies: reading and walking aimlessly.
Internally, I wrestle with the idea of sharing these projects to bolster their validity. But I remind myself that this is not social media, this is my designated space for feeling out the wounds. And this year the act of creating has felt a lot like Krazy Glue sealing up gaping injuries. Consider this my PSA to pick up a hobby in between travel destinations this summer.
An Inventory of My Creative Endeavors ca. 2023
Restless in December, I constructed and decorated a cardboard gingerbread house, complete with white modeling paste “icing” that I piped with disposable cake decorating tools. I loved how bright the white paint pen (water-based for extra vibrancy) looked on the cardboard.
To celebrate my favorite holiday, in February I drew probably two dozen valentines for family and friends. Naturally, the white paint pen aesthetic was revisited lol
This will sound deranged to a Very Offline Person, but for a full 72 hours this fall an invitation to beta test Pinterest’s new collage app was CURRENCY. I was refreshing Reddit every 20 minutes to snag an early access code. As a lifelong collage maker/mood boarder, visiting the app became my reflexive move to settle anxiety. Dashing off collage after collage and mining my Pinterest for digital clippings was so pleasing to my brain. And the UX is so intuitive!
I discovered “advanced” paint-by-numbers during quarantine and oh man did I crack the hobby code. For the first 75 percent of the activity all that’s required is obedience, patience, and a chill demeanor. The final stretch, however, rewards an artistic sensibility. The end product is kind of awkward if you don’t liberally apply leftover paint or embellish underwhelming bits. I’ve considered doing pure painting replications (sans numbers) to achieve the same the mindless effect, but I find the prepackaged paints and canvas too appealing. Catch me as the most prolific paint-by-number artist of the 21st century maybe!
Most recently I drew this colorful Mother’s Day card for my mom. I really cannot escape florals, but I like that about me.
Not pictured in the round-up: among other things, a large motivational poster-board with lyrics from “Bejeweled” that I affixed with large plastic jewels and hung in my bedroom this winter to create my own personal cheerleading section. I stand by this concept but have a healthy amount of embarrassment posting a visual.
Sidewalk Report
I liked the idea of a featuring something funny or interesting I see during one of my many aimless walks each week. This week’s find:
I loved this straightforward and sweet advertisement for neighborhood dog-walking. Exceptional copywriting if you ask me!!
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!