Weaving: why we need it; why we need to pass it on

Much in the current issue (December/January 2012) of American Craft resonated with me. I want to share some of these things with you and to also encourage you to pick up a copy at your local newsstand. In her editorial, Monica Moses talks about Parks and Recreations’ Nick Offerman’s need for woodworking as a way to find solace in every day living.

She writes, “…woodworking has been Offerman’s therapy, lifeblood, salvation, and joy. He’s not alone, of course. For thousands of makers across the country, handwork is one of the most powerful forms of stress relief—cheaper than a shrink, more efficient than meditation, and a lot less risky than drugs and alcohol.”

“So if making things by hand is such a potent antidote to life’s pressures, as so many have discovered, are we teaching it in school? Are we arming our children with the craft skills they need to make their own contentment, to withstand the blows and hassles of modern life?”

There’s more to ponder in her article, which is a lead in to several features about craft and education in the magazine that caused me to think: Just what do I want my role to be as a handweaver, as a craftswoman, to ensure that not only the future of the craft continues, but that craft lives to nurture, challenge, and sustain future generations of creative and thinking individuals?