There are times when we need a secure harness in order to reach out into the unknown, safe in the knowledge we can return to what we know to be familiar ground. It’s why we go on holiday, try new activities and skills. We are not making a commitment, a permanent change in our lives. But we allow ourselves to sample, test, taste to see if we want to add to our personal repertoire or home environment something new, soothing, inspiring, or merely useful. But in order to embark on such adventures, we need to have established a secure base from which to explore.
I love going out on a limb to learn a new skill. The latest one was a lampshade making course. I had made the lamp base, bought the electrical fitting and fitted it, all that was left was the shade. I was not completely sure this area of textile fabrication was one I would enjoy, but the course was lovely: it completely demystified the process and I finally understood the skill involved. I felt I had achieved something that was also repeatable in my own time and bought another couple of kits to make some more.
Importantly, it was also the first time in a very long time that I had made something deliberately for myself. As makers we are always looking to find the overlap between what we love and what we hope someone else will too. But on this occasion I was making for myself. This ‘selfish’ act was quite a departure for me. For once I wasn’t hoping for connection with other people, I wasn’t trying to impress or invite criticism. I wasn’t reaching out from the secure tether of my studio into the marketplace to expose my work to the outside world. What it taught me was that my confidence in my own particular making, (my anchor) could allow me to fly into unknown territory and come back enriched and emboldened and ready to reach for even more.
It was quite a ‘light bulb’ moment!
