Christmas Craft Shows
I love craft shows. Actually I love them and I hate them. I love them because I am always awestruck and inspired by all the talent and creativity. I hate them because I am broke and rent is coming and my craft purchases must be limited. I also harbour misguided aspirations of being a crafty girl myself until memories of failed attempts come back to haunt me and remind me that I can’t draw or thread a sewing machine and the one time I tried to throw clay on a pottery wheel I ended up making something that resembled a misshapen penis rather than a vase. I wander through the shows admiring all the cute crafty girls and want to wear funky shawls, get a new haircut and be all arty and talk about working in my studio. I end up feeling talentless and very boring. Sigh.
The Sweetie and I were having an animated discussion about craft shows and all things crafty. Being very practical (although a photographer and art lover himself) he concluded that craft shows are venues dedicated to stuff that nobody needs.
Well.
That’s a craft show buzz-kill if ever there was one. It’s not about need. It’s never about need. The same statement can be made about art. Nobody needs art. We don’t need to play . We don’t need to have sex unless we want to procreate. We don’t need to try amazing recipes if we are just eating to survive. Crafts, like art, are about expression and a celebration of creativity, and a rebellion against pure practicality and function. It’s about embracing frivolity and creating for the sake of making something beautiful or whimsical or doing it just for the sake of doing it. Our lives can be richer and fuller and more magical when we celebrate all things impractical, small and dreamy .
My One of a Kind Craft Show impractical purchases:
Brooke’s Delectable Chocolate (crack). I can only show the empty bag because I bought 2 bags and devoured both before I got home. It is unbelievable. Best delectable chocolate I’ve ever had. I have to load up every year and every year I inhale all of it in one sitting.
Sweet bunny with a fuzzy tail by Fabricawakuwaku and super soft silk screened tshirt by Ollie Golightly for my girlfriend’s baby.
My Crafternoon Tea purchase:
Soap Scum soap. Who doesn’t love filthy animals?
I know none of these crafty buys will change my life in any significant way. I did, however, have a marvelous few hours of scarfing back chocolate, wandering through aisles of delightful sights and was simultaneously delighted and depressed. What more can I ask for on a blustery cold November weekend?
