Before becoming comfortable with "artist", I always considered myself a
dabbler.
I was first aware of what a dabbler was when I was in Girl Scouts. I liked what the Dabbler Badge looked like. Honestly, I can't remember if I earned this badge but I embraced the idea of being a dabbler.
I did a Google search and found the requirements for the badge;
but I still can't tell if I would have earned it.
1. Take colored chalk and see how many different ways you can use it.
2. Make a drawing or painting of something such as a story you
like, a song you like, or a place you have been.
3. Make a pinch pot out of clay.
4. Make a hike stick, simple toy, whistle, cook spoon, or darning egg out of wood.
5. Make a candle holder, corn popper, cookie cutter, or imaginative animal out of tin.
6. Take bunches of grass, pine needles, or like material and make a sit-upon by coiling and sewing with raffia or long grass.
7. Learn something about how the American Indian and other folk arts have influenced arts and crafts of today.
8. Cut a leaf pattern or other design into a piece of potato, linoluem, wooden bock, or stencil.
Print your design on a smock or apron.
9. Make hand puppets of characters from favorite stories and have each puppet act.
10. Make an imaginative fish or animal form from wire.
11. Make a peepshow or a diorama.
Before I started this post, I wanted a good definition of
dabbler. I checked several different sources and these are what I found:
- One who engages in an activity superficially or without serious intent. (I never work on anything superficially)
- A person who never keeps doing one activity for long. (This could be me, but "long" is relative".)
- An amateur is someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime. (No, there was more of a passion or purpose or desire to do something new; never just to pass the time; and in some activities, I definitely passed the amateur stage.)
- To work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner. (Not me!)
- Doing many things but none of them particularly well. (I'd rephrase this; do many things some of them particularly well.)
I don't think any of these are really accurate definitions. I believe I was born with the "dabbler gene". I have always had a craving to learn something new~and still do.; but when the passion dies, I move on to the next "new" thing.
I suspect that every "creative" woman from my generation was consumed by "
crafts" in the 80's.
My addiction to crafts actually began in 1968 on a trip to visit Aunt Butter in Virginia. She is like the
fairy godmother of crafters. She did everything that came along. I thought she was the most interesting person I knew. I still have a very small hand painted porcelain pin that she sent me. I still can't imagine how on earth she painted on that tiny disk....even with a magnifying glass.
On this particular visit, she was "into"
decoupage. I loved the items she had done; so I asked her to show me how to do it. Well, everyone got a decoupaged gift for Christmas that year. My Mother still has the playing card box I gave her. I have only one of those original pieces; it's a postcard from an art museum. It's one of those possessions that has followed me all over the country. I suppose it might be unusual, but most of the things that I created, I either sold or gave as gifts, I have virtually nothing. When I visit a friend's or realtive's home and see these things~I am truly amazed that "I DID that".
My dabbling started after college. My roommate and I dabbled our way through Europe; 11 countries, 16 cities in 9 weeks. What a memory we made; and it made me a "forever traveller".
Then I moved West and started trying new things. I learned to ski~both snow and water; instead of buying a TV, I rented a piano and re-taught myself to play; I learned to play bridge, I hiked and together with a friend bought a horse and learned to ride and everything else about keeping a horse. This lasted about 2 years until I realized that the horse really didn't
respect me and out of the corral I was never really in control. While owning
Sunny, I never had fingernails (he never walked over a branch, he had to jump) and after falling off (catapulted actually) & having him roll on me, I decided that
Sunny needed a new home. Having never had dancing lessons as a child, I enrolled in a ballet class. I loved that; the movement, the flexibility I developed, the music, the barre and dance routines, the discipline~everything. Then I graduated to
point class.....that ended my dancing days. I worked on my feet all day. No way was I going to have sore toes too. I learned how to pitch a tent, camp in the mountains~no "services"; I learned the names of wildflowers and how to fish. And then I learned how to be a Mother....I'm still doing that one!
I had always loved needlework. My Mother taught me to sew and I made doll clothes when I was 8 or 9, by hand. I learned to knit and to crochet. Sewing became a passion. I used to try and make my own clothes and they always looked just like that ~homemade. Then, I decided it was time to get serious. I took classes, bought books, beautiful fabric, notions. I made kids clothes, doll clothes, maternity clothes & Halloween costumes (I said "enough" to that when my daughter was 13!) My "aha" moment came when I took an "altering" class. That is when I learned how to alter a pattern and make clothes to fit my odd shaped body; you couldn't tell my homemade clothes from the store bought ones after that.
I knitted sweaters for Christmas, crocheted intricate afghans when I could hardly decipher the directions, I did crewel embroidery ( I can't or shouldn't brag about those pieces...pretty gaudy, it was the 70's). When I gave up doing counted cross-stitch, I gave away 3 storage boxes full of patterns, hoops and every color of floss, ribbon and metallic thread they made.
I did leaded stained glass. It took up so much space! We had to clear the kitchen table once in awhile to eat. I only did 5 projects...all gifts. I taught myself calligraphy, was hooked on tole painting for years; macrame, basketweaving (again I only made 5 egg baskets and all were given as Christmas presents). Basketweaving is very hard on the hands. I was lucky to have a friend who also started making baskets so I sent her 2 boxes of reed, raffia and fancy handles. I have 4 baskets that she sent me in return. I've done bookbinding..lots of variety there and I still do it; I dried flowers, made potpourri, scented bath salts, simmering spices, Amish dolls, papier mache piggy banks (with balloons and egg cartons), hat boxes and calico cat door stops. These are all the crafts I really enjoyed. Most of these things I sold at craft shows.
There were some things I really failed at.
Scherenschnitt. I loved the detail and intricacy but was never able to do it without mutilating the paper. Quilting~the time vs. reward ratio was just too much for me; glass painting, playing the guitar and after
one paper crane, origami.
I ended my craft days years ago; giving away or donating most of the huge amount of supplies I had accumulated over 20 years. When I retired, I
simplified my life. Today my craving to learn new things isn't quite as strong but definitely still there. After the first failure to learn watercolor, I tried again. I think now I've succeeded in this art medium. After 5 or so years of painting, I was able to say that I am an
artist. I am very fortunate to be able to sell my artwork in a local gift shop. Arthritis has slowed me down just a bit but now I write Haiku, grow orchids, make handmade cards at Christmas, can make avocado soup(using the avocados from our prolific tree), know the names of all the shorebirds, speak a little French and even use Facebook ( I even have a special page dedicated to Paris). I found a great website today
http://www.craftypod.com/ and saw this
very interesting needlecraft called
Kanzashi. ....something new to try???
If what they say about "variety being the spice of life", then I think that being a dabbler is a very good thing!
