Why I Make

My smartphone’s the first thing I look at in the morning – I like to tell myself that I held out against this habit longer than most, but in the end I too succumbed to the siren call of instant gratification.  The podcasts on my morning drive are like letters from some distant never-seen penpal.  Throughout the workday my laptop is the wellspring of all information, without which productivity would come to a horrible, grinding halt.
 
Don’t get me wrong -- I enjoy the modern world and all its conveniences -- but so often this constant barrage of technology and data and noise leaves me feeling detached and overstimulated.  I yearn to feel rooted in something, to disconnect from these intangible signals, to reconnect with something that has substance.
 
The gentle tink of glass, the smooth coolness of stone, the smell of fresh wood – these are the things that bring me back from the hum of our modern world. To create something that is more than the sum of its parts, to have something to actually point to and hold and say, “I did that. That was me.”
 
Adult coloring books.  Chalk paint. Microbrewing.  Herb gardening.  We’re all in search of that missing piece that brings us back into ourselves and turns our creativity loose on the world.  Maybe you’ve found yours, or maybe you’re still looking.  Keep looking.  It’s worth the search.


​