I have to say, I'm a little abashed to be writing this post after the examples set by my two previous Pens.
Let's be clear: I don't knit. Or crochet. Or embroider. If something rips, I either try to cajole a friend into sewing it for me, or I keep it around with the intention of someday doing something about it until it goes out of style. At which point it becomes Goodwill's problem.
But still, as long as a "craft" doesn't involve textiles, I'm up for it. Yes indeed, I have Big Plans.
I save things. Weird things. And always with the intent to use them in one crafty form or another. Bottle caps? Surely they're useful for something. Wine corks? It goes without saying. Those tiny plastic tables that keep the pizza box from smooshing the pizza? Cool. Clothespins, old Tarot cards, abandoned Scrabble tiles...oh yes, I've got 'em. and I'm not afraid to use them. Eventually.
Problem is, I'm a little busy right now. The craft of writing has me in its grasp, and it's pretty tough to extricate myself. And peeking out from behind writing's skirts, clamoring for attention just as soon as I find some free time, is painting (if you're interested, check out www.truefauxdesigns.com to see what I used to do before I caught writing fever.)
A good friend of mine has been watching a TV show called "hoarders", and lately I think she's been pondering staging an intervention. But I contend that the very best thing about a junk-filled artist's studio is that there is so much promise, everywhere. How many things in life offer such possibilities? A blank canvas calls out; a stray piece of wood whispers; a styrofoam ball inspires. My housemates cringe, my neighbors worry, my son rolls his eyes. But I would argue that, at least to some extent, hoarding is a sign of a creative mind.
Especially if you're hoarding really awesome things like Altoid tins. Do you have any idea how many things a person could make with Altoid tins?
Still, my eternal optimism is not shared by all. So I guess I'd better be crafty about hoarding cool stuff until I get a chance to dedicate myself to some really craftiness.
And when I do, those Altoid boxes are going to become some amazing mini-shrines. Just you wait.
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8 comments:
I have a running battle with my husband about the line between collecting and hoarding. However, until I can arrange my few possessions neatly instead of scattered around the house like tornado debris, I can't really bust him too hard for having three different copies of the same Chinese movie (no subtitles!)....
We've both agreed never ever to hoard cats. Everything else is personal preference as long as the stacks along the path through the room are no more than waist high :)
My garage is full of things I might use...someday. :)
ps. you can recycle wine corks at Whole Foods :)
Those Altoid tins are SO HARD to resist. Maybe next year I'll make it a goal to make every Xmas gift incorporate one of those tins in one way or another. Wouldn't that be a good challenge? :)
Knowing you, Rachael, you'll knit some fabulous little coats for them or something. And Mysti, I applaud the pledge not to collect cats. Good idea. And Lisa, we really should get your garage together with my studio, and take a look at all that good stuff!
I have a box full of random pretty things that I've collected over the years. Maybe at one time I pretended I was going to do something with them, but now they're just a box of pretties that I can't bear to throw out. Shiny rocks, shells, bits of ribbon--that kind of thing.
You should see my bottle collection. One day it's going to be an exhibit of awesome found object lamps. Until then, I too am sweating an intervention.
One of my favorite Juliet moments was when I first met her, and she had this...glob of wax from the covering of those little bitty cheese wheels, know the ones I mean? And she'd got it all squished and smushed into a workable state and she was just entranced. She said you could make all kinds of crazy stuff out of cheese wax. That was sure an eye opener...
Jules, you fail to mention that although you are not crafty, you are an accomplished, profesional artist. Your hording is merely an expression of your artistic soul responding to the medium. Yeah right, just admit you never clean under the beds.........
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