Is the tendency to be creative inherited? I come from a long line of makers, people who knew how to create things and preferred handmade over store-bought. Nature or nurture, I’m following in their footsteps. What do you know about your family’s creative legacy? Here’s mine.
On my mother’s side, my grandmother was a seamstress who did every kind of needlework imaginable. She crocheted doilies and embroidered pillowcases. She quilted.
She even did a type of cutwork called Hardinger embroidery. I remember looking at the Lee Ward’s catalogue at her house and being fascinated by all of the kits and supplies.
Her family in Poland rebuilt their house when the village was burned by the Bolsheviks in 1919. They raised their own food and honey bees. One of my great aunts even sold hand-made buttons and soap to feed her family during WWII. Now that’s resourceful!
My dad’s mother was also a maker. Every birthday card contained a hankie with a crocheted edging. For Christmas she made all 26 of her grandchildren a pair of flannel pajamas that were a pretty darn good fit. Out of those 26 grandchildren, there are several painters, card makers, an expert knitter, crocheters, a photographer, a hair stylist, meat cutters, bakers, cooks, crafters, a musician, and a painter of Ukranian Easter eggs. Sounds like a maker gene to me.
I’m not sure I can even list all the things my Mom has made over the years. My sisters and I had the best Barbie clothes in town: outfits for every occasion!
Every outfit was complete with accessories!
Mom made lots of our clothes, too. It wasn’t just sewing, she was great at many crafts. She crocheted and taught me to embroider when I was five. She did paint-by-number sets. She made the fanciest Christmas cookies you have ever seen. After her five of kids were a little older, she began to sell her wares at local craft shows to make extra money for Christmas.
Dad was handy, too. With help from my uncles he remodeled our house and added on three rooms, making all the cabinetry himself. He was always tinkering and learning. He made cutting boards and rolling pins to give as gifts.
I’m obsessed with making. I love to watch people making things on Create TV or You Tube. I quilt and embroider and paint and dabble in other crafts, too. If a day goes by without working on a project it feels like a day wasted.
I could spend huge sums of money at hardware, craft, fabric or stationery stores, so I only go there for what I need (mostly). Raw material of any kind has so many possibilities!
When I’m out plein air painting the people who stop to chat often talk about their relatives who could draw or paint. I think they secretly wish they were carrying on that legacy, but they tell me they have no talent for it. I just tell them that I’m sure they have other gifts which painters don’t have. I hope their “maker gene” is getting expressed in some other way.
Keep on creating!
dnesbitt
Donna, thank you so much for sharing your family of makers. It brought back so many memories of my grandma. She came from “makers” too. One of my favorite “treasures” is a cotton slip she made me when I was about three.
Keep writing and sharing.