Wow I didn't expect so many thoughtful comments on this video 😭 I didn't respond individually as I didn't necessarily want to dilute what you shared with my opinion but I really appreciate everyone who shared their experiences with art and craft! Let's keep making in whatever way we feel comfortable 💪❤

Yes! This whole topic resonates with me a lot! I went to an arts high school and did an art minor in college but I think I experienced a lot of self-consciousness about calling myself and "artist" because I never felt as creative as some of my peers. When it comes to knitting, I pretty much always knit a designer's pattern because, yeah, there is that security in knowing that it's been tested and you have a pretty good idea of what the finished object is gonna be like. But then, I sometimes still get this like imposter syndrome when someone compliments a sweater I've made because I feel like those compliments are often accompanied with comments like "you're so artistic/creative" when all I've really done is follow step by step instructions. But yeah, then that feels like it's diminishing the value of craftspeople, kind of positioning a craftsperson as some how "less" than an "artist" when in reality it's not really a super, like, cut and dry hierarchy. It makes me think of all those videos I see on the internet of craftspeople in Japan making really high quality calligraphy ink and I think those people are awesome and incredibly skilled and that they're making something truly beautiful and I have mad respect for the people doing that work and preserving that craft. So it's like just because this person didn't invent that thing or the method doesn't make them any less skilled or important. Anyway, I hope this makes some sense. I'm not one to usually post long-winded comments but yeah I just really appreciate your content and that you're making space for these kinds of ideas and discussions!

Mine is a pretty simple answer - I like making my own clothes. I love not being at the mercy of what's "in" right now and can make what I want to wear regardless of what's in fashion at the moment (or decade)

Great chat! I started out considering art school, but 15 years later I'm a software product manager with a fibercraft addiction. When I look back at all the painting and drawing I did years ago, I see a lot of anxiety and uncertainty there that I dont feel when I'm spinning or weaving or knitting. Making something beautiful and useful is satisfying to me as visual art never was.

As someone who also always assumed I'd be making my living with art (I was/am a musician) and ultimately did not go that route, this was a great watch. I've been really surprised with the amount of grace I've been able to show myself when it comes to my crafting. Whereas often with music it could feel like I was torturing myself to work on something until it was absolutely perfect and above all criticism (as if there is such a thing), with knitting, crochet, and sewing I've been able to release my perfectionism and learn to enjoy the craft for what it is. And I've been able to take pride in it in a way I never could with music. With music nothing was ever good enough, but with fiber everything I finish is an improvement on the last thing I made and that's often enough for me to feel satisfied. If there's an imperfection or a criticism it doesn't ruin my self-confidence the way a less than ideal review on a performance or losing out on a solo would. It's also a way for me to disconnect from capitalism, which feels really good, and which is why I doubt I will ever try to monetize my crafting. Making my own clothing makes me feel like I'm contributing just a little bit less to many of the problems I see in the world and is a low-pressure way for me to feel connected to my creativity, and trying to live off of it would probably take a little bit of that away. I greatly admire knitters and designers who are able to make their living off their craft, but I know it wouldn't ultimately serve me. Sorry this comment was basically a novella lol I just feel like I could talk about this forever.

totally agree with all that you said. I've done an art school and am working in animation. To this day it's still a struggle to have your artistic self be judged all the time. But I think it's just the thing with working in art that you have to learn to deal with your ego and others ego, I think that's actually the trickyiest part, not doing the art itself just all the social and ego interactions that englobes it. and obviously you're really not prepared enough at school for that. about what keeps me knitting : - there's always a new techniques or something to learn to do better, the sense of having material "proof" (each project you work on) of where you were at at any point of the journey. Like you can clearly see the quality go up each time you finish something new and that keeps me wanting to do more challenging stuff - the community aspects : help, hype, seing what others are doing, podcasts, tutorials etc. - but there's also the thing of just being able to enjoy the easy simple project that doesn't push you outside your comfort zone when you don't feel like using a lot of brain power but you still feel like you've done something "meaningfull" at the end of the day (for example doing a simple Sophie Scarf for gift knitting) - the last thing that keeps me knitting I think is the satisfaction to see your product be used and enjoyed by the person is was made for (also when it's done for yourself) it's just the extra gratitude people have when you actually spent the time Doing It Yourself and didn't just buy it. - lastly, I'm the sole creative drive behind what I chose to knit and that feels good to have full responsability and ownership other something. since working in animation is really a team effort where you have to constantly think about what others want creatively too, and the idea of responsability is blurred in the end product (how much was your imput the thing that made the end project look good /bad ). it's good to have something that when you see the errors, you can't say that it's all your fault (then just take action to fix it) or all you doing a great job (then just enjoy that you did a great job). about doing art when you feel like it instead of on a schedule : at some point I was doing a challenge of doing timed figure drawing to improve. I kept doing it for around 2 mounths, but It didn't feel good after that point so I just stop. It just struck me one week later to try and still do figure drawing and not time myself anymore, and it felt GREAT. I could see my imporvement but also was alowed to spent as much or as little time on each drawings. All that to say, keeping a schedule is great when wanting to "learn" or "improve" but exersising doesn't really mean anything if you can't just "perform" for the sake of enjoying "the thing".

I’ll try to keep this concise, but I could talk for days on this topic - first, thanks for this open conversation and honesty it’s just music to my ears right now. My creative outlet I thought would be a KZfaq channel so I launched. Holy hell. It tanked. Badly. And now, two years later? I see what a valuable journey all of that fail (what felt like a fail) and rejection really was for me. I just recently started adding content again and this time from the place that I do it because I LOVE making a fake tv show! It’s so fun and pointless and the pointlessness of it IS my joy! No one is watching so I have legit zero pressure and the freedom of that? Priceless!! 😂😂😂 my poor little two year ago self was sooo wounded by the rejection and today it’s made me the happiest unknown KZfaqr alive. The world of internet “comparison” “perceived criticism” through inaction “perceived approval” through likes is not easy to navigate. I’m feeling very lucky to have faced it moved through and come to understand why I create what I do at last. I do it cause it’s a hoot. That’s that! ❤

I love this whole conversation. I heard something once that always stuck with me, "good design is invisible." When I thought about that, it's true. Humans notice friction - when the coat hook is too far away, or the lightswitch is on the wrong side of the room, etc. This video showed me another facet to this: designers are often creative people and part of being creative is wanting people to see your work. If I design a perfectly functional room, no one is going to notice that. But if I do something cool, but less functional, people notice. It's a very interesting push and pull that I've never really paid attention to before.

I'm not usually one to comment on videos, but I've actually found myself in a nearly identical situation--got my BFA in painting and felt the same sort of weight of having that thing that I love as my livelihood, and got super burnt out on painting, whereas knitting has become that creative hobby that doesn't have the same kind of pressure. I've recently started to get excited about painting again, which has been amazing, and I genuinely don't think it would have happened if I hadn't been able to sustain a creative practice outside of it while in that slump, and learning about knitting and materials has definitely given me new perspectives on things that are directly changing the way I think about painting. It's always comforting to hear people talk about this kind of experience since a lot of us DO go through it but I think there's also some self-imposed shame to it--like because we chose to pursue something like a BFA rather than something more conventional or profitable. And at the end of the day, "doing what you love" for work is still *working* at the end of the day, no matter how much you love it, and that's why again I feel the same as you on the pattern designing/yarn-dyeing topic too. Frankly what keeps me knitting is that I like to do it, I have ideas of finished projects that I want, whether it's someone else's pattern or something I'm figuring out myself as I go, and it forces me to slow down a bit, even as a pretty fast knitter. That fulfills a different kind of creative need for me than painting does, and I think it helps kind of remind me that I have my whole life ahead of me to achieve the things I want to achieve with fine art as a career, while still allowing other projects that take time and energy, and to not see it as something that takes time and energy away from something "more important". Thanks for sharing your experience and opening up the conversation! I've always really enjoyed your chats and content, and especially the interview series with other creators

Thanks for talking about this topic and gave me something to think about. I’m kind of the opposite wrt criticism: if I don’t get it, I think that no one is engaging with the work. I guess this is due to my scientific training, and partially because I want to keep improving. I think part of what keeps me knitting is that I can improve in a clear and defined manner. I’m taking a break from illustration (I’m self-taught) and I kind of felt I reached a plateau with regard to that. When I would ask for feedback, I would get none. So I was lost and didn’t know how to improve. Of course, I could work on something, but I was so lost on how to go about implementing that. Knitting provides a sense of progression with regards to patterns which require different techniques. And at the end of the day, you have a product that can be used, no matter how lopsided it is, how many stitches you botched. But yeah, great food for thought.

I really appreciate your thoughtful approach to art and craft (as evidenced by your channel). I'm in my 50s, have always been seen as a creative, though my career would not be considered creative - and I am, among other things, a writer in my job. I have never been interested in monetizing my knitting or other crafts (including writing). IMO, that's the best way to kill the innate joy in something - but of course different people interpret things differently. For me, art and craft are about my own personal experience of my Self. It's a way I show love, determine my own skill set and artistic desire, create things that are practical but also beautiful to my own eye. It's how I exist in the realm of other creators - which is an amazing thing. It's an historic and philosophic act. It's unlikely that I could ever earn the kind of money I do by monetizing my craft - and this has nothing to do with my talent (or talent in general). Art is too easy to undervalue. My goal is to be able to retire AND afford yarn 🙂 PS: In my late 40s, one day it became clear to me that I am an artist by my own definition. I have no issues referring to myself as such. I mean, I refer to myself by a strange professional title that doesn't resonate with me anywhere near to the same degree - and everyone buys into that cuz someone is paying me at the end of the day. One doesn't have to earn money selling art or craft to be an artist or crafter. The reward I receive and the zone I inhabit via my craft is its own kind of compensation. Also, everyone I know wears everything I make with pride - and I LOVE that.

Thank you for sharing Jenny!! It was almost like you took the thoughts right out of my brain lol. On the flip side of criticism, I feel a lot of pressure from praise too! Like “omg you are so talented, what will you paint next??” And then I sit down in front of a blank piece of paper and cannot make anything good. For me, knitting allows me to create without ever starting with a blank canvas, if that makes sense…with yarn and needles and a pattern there’s always a starting point and I don’t feel the same pressure. Anyway, lots of good stuff in this episode and I appreciate you taking the time to share :)

Knitting for me is my own personal creative outlet. I feel soooo good when I wear one of my sweaters, cardigans or socks. The feel of the different fibers and needles in my hands as I’m adding stitches is very therapeutic. And I guess I do ruminate on lots of things. It was lovely listening to your thoughts on the topic. There are times when I think, this is so useless, and takes so long to do. But my hands keep picking it up. I love being able to gift items at baby showers or hospital baby hats, chemo hats…..etc, so I’m going to continue. Ther are so many beautiful yarns and inspiring things to make. Even just experiencing the process of the construction of a sweater gets me excited! Thank you Jenny, for sharing! Have a great day!

This is a great talk! I am in UI and it can very much feel like we're separated from art, when really it's more of a technical approach like you mentioned. It's cool that you mentioned that you delved into craft to have more of a relationship with art because that's also what I did. Traditional art just wasn't doing it for me in terms of a creative outlet and I kept getting into the rut of "my art isn't good enough". With knitting though I can be like "yes I have created a useful item though it isn't perfect" and that has really healed my approach to creativity in general.

I resonate a lot with the hobby jumping and hobby graveyard situation. I woke up one day and decided I’ll knit and crochet and stuck it for a very long time without getting extremely obsessive about it. My parents are shocked by how invested I am in it and can put it down or pick it up easily unlike my other previous serial hobbies. I wish I could do this back in school but, I’m pretty sure my teachers wouldn’t appreciate it since I got written up for doodling by some of them 😂 One of my prof in uni was very understanding and set a baseline. Her exact words were “ if doodling helps you better understand and focus, I don’t mind you focusing “ and it stuck with me.

I am not an artist, but really enjoy the process of making. It’s been the answer to my anxiety for sure, as is watching knitting KZfaqs. I’m quite obsessed with knitting, #understatement and love that I can wear ( or give) what I make, and that there are so many beautiful yarns available and so many ways to combine them. It feels really good to spend money on indie-dyed yarns. I love not funding the mass-made fast fashion industry. I love seeing improvement over the years in my craft. I have a friend who dabbles in art, and she often comments on how I always use a pattern ( Well, I don’t want to spend time thinking I want to spend time knitting beautiful things!) …and her comments feel judge-y and art-snobby. Anyway…I love that during my very busy days as a gardener and a caregiver, I always know that I have KNITTING to look forward to. I’m never ever bored in waiting rooms. So many reasons why I keep knitting! I loved this knit and chat, and I love your cat painting! ❤❤❤ Oh and yeah, when I was in college, I had a professor comment negatively on my knitting in class…but I didn’t have the words or the nerve to explain that I took in information more easily if my hands were occupied.

Your painting reminds me of the cat from The Way of the Househusband on Netflix! Also I'm so glad to hear someone else ruminate on this topic because anytime someone exclaims 'Oh you're so creative!' when looking at my knitting my immediate reaction is to say 'No, no I'm not' because I'm just essentially copying someone else's work. I keep doing it because keeping my hands busy doing something useful makes me feel better about my productivity and helps me sit and wait when I need to. I also don't want the intrusion that publishing knitting patterns would bring, but I have the ability to create them when I need/want to and that's enough for me. I do miss the more artsy things like drawing but as mine were the level of doodles and nothing more, I don't see where they're very useful or worth the time at this point.

i used to be a dancer - throughout childhood and into adulthood - i even moved to nyc to pursue it professionally! the self-criticism i faced every single day exhausted me so much that i eventually let it go - i miss dancing often, but finding myself **making** things through knitting has given me a space to be creative and tactile without constantly judging myself and comparing myself to others! it's a purely joyful practice - and i hope one day dancing can be the same

I think my main 2 reasons to keep knitting are 1. It helps me focus. I love a stockinette in the round or a garter ect type project that I don’t have to think about to work away on whilst I’m in zoom meetings or training ect as it stops me fidgeting or looking at emails and really helps me focus on the content of the meeting/training. And 2. I would love to move away from fast fashion and knitting is a really accessible way for me to bring high quality pieces into my wardrobe in a way that isn’t supporting the fast fashion industry. It’s made me interested in fibre content and looking after my clothes in a more meaningful way and seeing the time that goes into each piece and being able to customise it so it fits well (and being able to frog items that don’t work and re-knit them into something that will work!) has been really valuable.

I am constantly on the lookout for deep thoughts on knitting etc., so I am thrilled to find you contemplating on these things here. Please don't feel apologetic about being interested about the WHY of things. Also, I believe -everything- is so deep. There is no shallow reasoning for anything, just the different approaches at how deep people are willing to dig 😅 That much said: I think a lot of creative people can relate to what you say. I think of myself as a creative person, but my output is usually something that is useful and my interest in making art has always mainly resolved around that. I think art needs a person to reserve a space in their hearts to make something that is not useful, but simply is. So you have to allow yourself to potentially do shit stuff as well. There clashes the artist and the craftsperson (at least in me), because I am sad about the lost materials, time and effort. Also, there is the topic that you put out there: people's regard of one's work, as well. Man, I wish there was a possibility to knit and chat about all of this live. There are so many more dimensions to think about. Well, this has to suffice. Have a good day :)

I think my main reason for wanting to continue knitting is my constant fight against my anxeity. knitting is really calming and helps me a lot with my anxeity, and combined with how fun I think it is and the beautiful projects you get out of it it's just the perfect craft! I also relate a lot to your story, I used to want to be an artist but not unlike you I ended up in graphic design, which I love, and since then I haven't really painted or done any art in the same way. but i think maybe I'm just better suited for "arts" with a purpose, like how design has an end goal and knitting has a finished object! more my style🥰

love the insight into your background in art. Once upon a time in the dark ages I had a double major in art and psychology. Not sure how either one has served me!! Knitting is so much like doodling during class and helps calm me down enough to absorb what I'm listening to or watching. Keep sharing, your delivery style is so user friendly and honest!!

For me, the two areas in my life where it's harder to receive criticism is work and songwriting. With work, I feel like my intellect is being attacked and with songwriting I feel like me expressing my emotions is being attacked and I think because I strongly link my identity with my intellect and emotions, it feels like a punch in the core. With knitting on the other hand, it's more separate. I don't even identify myself as a knitter, but more as a person who knits. So maybe that's why I can keep knitting, even if (although never) I receive any criticism about my knitting. Even when making mistakes in knitting, it won't say anything about me on an intellectual level, it's just another thing to learn or fix. This chat reminds me of this quote by Dogen: “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly.” All in all, thanks for sharing your thoughts and once again accompanying me as I knit :)

I'm so glad I came across your channel 🌟 I liked your content becuase I felt we had similar vibes but this knit & chat really solidified our similarities 🤣 I'm in a the creaitve feild too (I'm in my final year of design school)! I only really committed to knitting seriously recently and this topic has been on my mind. Just like you, I've always had an affinity to creative stuff and since I'm graduating soon too I've been a funk about finding true fullfillment in what I create. While you mention the aspect of criticism as something to differientate the art vs. craft, for me, it's constantly striving for success as a designer. There's so much pressure to hustle and to make a name for yourself in the design industry and it's been sucking the fun out of everything. Knitting has given me a safe space to create soemthing without a ✨brain✨, without the pressure of sucess. I'm also a serial hobbiest but it's my goal for 2024 to keep a consistent hobby like knitting to ground me! I could write more about this topic but I don't wanna post a whole ESSAY in this comments section LMFAO...but please keep up with these thought provoking knit & chats!!!

Before I became a knitter I was a stained glass artist. I lost the love for it when I turned my “hobby” to a commission second income. And like you mentioned, when I would commission a piece it opened up an avenue for criticism because other people didn’t under stand the time and effort that went into it. When I started knitting it was to keep myself busy and I swore that I would NEVER make a passion or hobby a job again. But now with knitting it gets me through some of the health issues I have to deal with too.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on your experiences with art and crafting. I am much older than you and look at my knitting and sewing as a way to be productive. Half of what I make is serviceable and the other half is just pretty. I enjoy your outlook. The world is a different place now than when I was young. I’m glad you share your craft with us.

giiiirl I can absolutely relate. I've got a BFA degree (Fine Arts), and a masters degree in Art Critic, but my anxiety won't let me work as such. I got so tired and studied philosophy of art 'cause I couldn't see myself as an artist. It's a major thing for me, like "art" is so scary and fascinating at the same time. And knitting is my chill creative outlet but art has never been. And as much as I love art, creating artworks will always stress me out.

What a lovely and thoughtful episode! Really enjoyed this knit and chat ❤ Regarding your questions… It was tough not to take criticism personally during my college years. So many of the short stories I wrote for my creative writing courses were inspired by my own experiences or memories that any negative comment felt like a personal attack. Eventually I learned how to separate the two of course, but gosh it took a lot of self-soothing during those late teen years to get through it. I still work in a creative capacity now (mostly editing and translation), but I find that it’s really hard to engage with writing in a hobby or non-work capacity because it’ll make me think of work. I need a bit of separation, so I had to pick up unrelated hobbies to keep up that love of creation without depending on it for livelihood. It’s made a world of difference in terms of my mental health, so I count it as a win. I’m currently having this internal battle about knitting because I do want to make patterns to fill a specific gap in the market, but I don’t want it to become my full-time gig, you know? And with neurodivergence, I really need to reign in the ADHD so that it doesn’t become all-or-nothing 😂

Hi! Thank you very much for the video. I really like your knit and chats for being so reflexive. And on the topic of the video, as a writer and translator, I definitely can relate to what you say. I've been writing since I was very little and was always passionate about it, later on creating content on the internet both about creative writing and literature. If on one side, I am pretty confident that I am good at it (because when I re-read past work, I generally like it, at least what I refined and got published), in the last few years - especially since that worldly event that kept us all at home - I can't help but feel it's irrelevant. There is so much being talked about already, so many people sharing content that I don't have energy to produce, the environment in the internet became so much about money and content creation became mandatory for certain professions that... I feel tired and can't bring myself at first to talk about writing, now, to write. I work mostly as a translator, and this drains my energy to read/write in my free time, of course, but translating has its drawbacks as well and I can definitely see how I "compensate" them with knitting. Both knitting and translating (books, at least) is slow and minute work - but with translation you don't control when it gets ready, when you'll see the result. More often than not in my niche (translating classics), the publishing house receives the text and some years go by before they publish it and we can see it in book format (this is so sad for our resume, since we're not allowed to talk about what books we worked on until they're published). Apart from that, with both writing and translation, even if we do see the physical book, we don't really see the actual impact of the work, which is in the recognition of its quality and if it stands the test of time and affects the lives and thoughts of people. As with all arts, the fruits of good literature are long term, it is in how it ~slowly~ shapes society (will we have a society to be shaped long term? That's another question). On the one hand, I've come to terms with this (have too - I need to work on something to pay my bills). On the other hand... I need to see the fruit of my work 😅 I think all humans kinda want it. And knitting has helped me with it, I think that is, in part, why I stuck to it. It is slow, but when it's finished, I have a palpable proof of that, a palpable useful or beautiful/decorative item, I can see that I did something, my effort brought something into the world, it didn't just disappear into the void. Oh well. Maybe it's TMI on my part as well. Let's keep on knitting, if it's doing us good for whatever reason. (And I totally agree on the "don't monetize your hobbies" thingsl!)

I had to learn to take criticism when i took a poetry class in college. It cut me to my core at the beginning because i did put a lot if myself into it. I am much better at taking it now and that was probably the best part of that class.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this and being so open about your relationship with the things you make. Just like you, I was drawing and painting as soon as I could somehow hold a pencil and it was a big part of my identity because I usually scribbled in school and worked on bigger projects at home and it became the thing that I was really good at and admired and respected for. But at some point I would only paint pretty things, that I liked and knew others would love. At some point I got bored of that and realised I didn't really have my own artistic voice anymore. To me, making art was always something I did when I was alone -and I was alone a lot- and I realised that I don't want to be alone and therefore i need to be doing other things. So I've been struggling with wanting to draw but not really knowing what, wanting to share but also just doing my own thing, wanting to speak but not really knowing about what, trying to find a piece of my former identity and making it fit in again because I know I enjoy the act of creating art. But I also know I don't know what to do with it after it was created because I only have limited wall or storage space but I also don't want to sell it... With knitting I am still creating something and it has an intended purpose, I can use fun colors, try new techniques, improve, get creative if I want to or just do it mindlessly. It helps staying motivated and actually finishing something, even if it takes a lot of time. I just know the time spent will be worth it. I can connect more with other crafters because there is no real competition, everyone generally just does what they like or need and we share our enjoyment

Thanks for sharing your great thoughts. Time to reflecs is also interessting. I started real knitting for nearly 3 years ago and are in deep now. Like the process, like the real materials and like to weare it, also got more people around me who likes me to knit stuff. Havent got time enough, I' 🙂m a slow knitter but I like it

Big kiki's delivery service energy. And I'm so glad you're finding your art again

❤I keep knitting/crocheting , because it’s cheaper then therapy ..

I think a lot of the difference between visual arts and crafts like knitting is that a lot of the math and science behind crafts are agreed-upon between the maker and the world. We expect a collar there, a seam there. We expect a texture or a pattern. The color is exciting or banal, but in the end it's a color within a palette that is socially acceptable. Visual arts encompass subjects, themes, and mediums in any combination under the sun, and while each stitch of a cardigan makes sense in a pattern, every stroke or vector or what have you in visual arts is a judgment. You judge what is meaningful, or aesthetically pleasing, or effective every step of the way, on every layer and hope to high heaven it resonates with your audience. And then people shit all over it. If a knit stitch was as arbitrary a judgment as we knit it (e.g., what if I decided to do thirty-three stitches this row?) as well as held to such a rigid standard, knitters would be much scarcer and practice knitters would have to frog a lot more. Anyway, this is my view on visual arts vs. crafts - and they're not mutually exclusive!

I started knitting very early. I started learning to knit at 5. I finished my first pair of socks at seven. My grandmother, a Scottish immigrant, believed that everyone should be able to knit their own socks and underwear. I continued knitting and picked up crochet. I didn't understand the significance of this activity until I was diagnosed with ADHD in my late teens. I use crochet and knitting as my stemming. I am also a BFA. I am mostly a sculptor and Potter. I have my own definitions of craft, art, and design. Obviously they overlap. For me, craft is the process. It is the skill. Design is usually for someone else. Art is personal. As I stated, these bleed into each other, especially today. As far as imposter syndrome goes, as powerful as the internet is, it is incredibly skilled at creating self doubts. Good in person workshops are a much better way to learn. A good teacher will help you much more than the internet. I do write patterns, and I have sold a few. Few people realize how much time and effort goes into a 5 dollar pattern. Even for a small toy it can take up to 4 or 5 attempts to develop the pattern to your vision. I really enjoy your honesty with this topic.

It's difficult for me to explain exactly how much this resonated with me. I want to send this to all the people I've tried to explain to why I don't draw as much anymore, and why knitting have thought me so much about my own criticism to my creative work

I love these thoughts and this conversation ❤️

i think i've always wished i was arty but i don't have the innate talent but being crafty for me at least partially fulfills this wish as i see them both under the umbrella as being creative. i think a lot of people don't see it that way as knitting for example is just following a set of instructions but i feel like people who say that type of stuff have never really done anything creative themselves. as an example my brother once said to me that knitting was essentially "paint by numbers". i think he views it as just a manufacturing process.

I'm a programmer and not an artist, but my hobbies have always been creative in nature. I struggle to do freestyle art (or, in my eyes, art that comes from my brain) because I'm my biggest critic- I get really frustrated when I try to depict what's in my brain on paper/digital art/embroidery, because it's just not "good enough" or accurate enough to what my brain is showing me. Even if it's just for me, and no one else will see it and criticize it, I feel like I'm doing my brain and my thoughts a disservice. Recently I decided to try to do a piece on what my thoughts look like with watercolor and embroidery on fabric, and I've been working on it a little at a time over the past week-ish. Surprisingly, the mixed media seems to be better for me..? Like it's a little closer to my thoughts. Even when I thought I "ruined it", I wasn't very frustrated. And it's not accurate to my thoughts, but it's not a disservice, somehow.

this was so nice, it felt like a meet up with a high school friend in a cozy café. i feel like the "there's something about the author in the work" is quite a old yet hot topic, at least in the literature classes i take, some people say it's true and it can not not-be since a book is a product of one's mind and others say a book is not what reality is but what it could be and that means that the author created it all based on nothing about his/her own life. i guess most of us stand in the middle of that (including myself), 'someone's creation could reflect a couple of their very own traits but not necessarily' so i totally get how you feel

I was really into painting before 2020 but when my painting studio closed its doors and went to zoom, I lost interest in it. I lost interest in painting altogether, even at home, because I wasn't inspired. I wasn't going anywhere or seeing anything new to get those creative artistic juices flowing. I took up knitting in early 2021 because it seemed like something cozy to do at home during the cold dark isolating horrible winter and I think I keep doing it because it is so nice and repetitive and even with a complicated pattern, it's very methodical and step-wise. The most creative part for me is choosing colors/yarns and choosing a pattern. After that, it's just following instructions and a bit of problem-solving. I also really like that I can do it while watching TV, to be completely honest. Sometimes I try to get back into painting, but I can't find my "why." I think what I enjoyed most about painting, to be completely honest again, was receiving praise for the finished paintings, and looking at the finished paintings and feeling pleased with myself. I'm not sure how much I really ever enjoyed the act of painting itself. Anyway, none of these things are my livelihood, so I only do them if I want to. Since I don't want to paint and I do want to knit, I knit.

When i was a kid i painted and i draw a lot. I still consider myself not that good since i dont do it anymore still i like to paint sometimes. I love color i like to draw and make handmade letters to people i care about. When i started crochetting and knitting 1 year ago i believe i found another hobby i love. Now i knit and not crochet since i feel it is less hard on my hands. I think many People like doing art but does not call themselves artists since like for that you have to have a degree or smth like that.

I totally get not wanting to monetize your hobby. I have zero desire to sell finished objects but I still get comments from people about how I should open an etsy etc. etc..... It's so annoying. I keep telling them how I simply knit for my own pleasure. It's my hobby that brings me joy and that's it. They just don't get it though.

I think your plant needs water.