Clare Hastings
21-02-2025
The joy of being creative
"I suspect my fat fingers would more than likely squash the clay than turn it, but I wouldn't mind trying."
I've rediscovered the Joy of Crafting. Wonderful Unique Workshops and Creative Experiences in London.
Craft is one of those words. To some it translates as 'sad'. A world of mad knitters, shawl weavers and embroidery hoops, but I love craft. One man's broken plate is another's kintsugi.
I think the large hobby shop may have something to do with its image. This world of jewellery pliers and hobby kits. Baffling for the uninitiated, and slightly depressing even when you do know what you are looking for.Good craft is soothing to the soul. Spending an hour or two mindlessly completing a task that earlier in the day you have thought impossible. I once made a tiny wire wren in a class, run by a wire sculpture artist. To say that I love it is an understatement. It sits perched on my kitchen shelf, testament to my awesome new skill. The fact it was practically done for me, an irrelevance.
Over the years I completed a class in fancy icing, created patisserie and tackled terrariums. I don't go home planning to repeat what I have learnt. I don't need a chime of wrens, or a tower of profiteroles, although I have just repotted a large terrarium jar that had gone berserk and turned into 'Little Shop of Horrors'. For me it's like going to the cinema, it is absorbing and takes your mind away from the everyday.
So what makes a great class? The teacher obviously. They must love their art (for they are usually artists, running a class not just for money, but also to pass on their enthusiasm). It is essential that you can take something physical away from your experience - like my little wren for example. A reminder of a happy lesson, where the group all started from zero. This is a good thing, as you can laugh when it all goes awry.
Head of Everything spent a day last weekend creating a mosaic sign for the front of her house. It was quite intense. A lot goes into making a mosaic, so apart from the sign, she also learnt the fundamentals of an ancient art form, at the same time working with an artist in their own studio. Harder work than she had anticipated. The class was with 3 of her friends and so not only did she have a full on learning experience but caught up with mates and learned how unfairly creative they all were.
I want to try my hand at pottery. Luckily, there are some fantastic pottery classes in London that cater to beginners—who knows, I might even master those miniature ceramic pots I’ve always admired. I am not an artist by nature, but I love pots and am very drawn to miniature ceramic pots, and would love to learn how to make them. I suspect my fat fingers would more than likely squash the clay than turn it, but I wouldn't mind trying.
So let's give a wave and a cheer for the artisans, the craftspeople who can turn an interest into a passion. Next time you pick up a hand turned bowl or a wooden spoon, or as I did the other month a pottery eggcup, think about the time and the skill that went into making it, and how much more pleasure you get from a unique hand made object than a mass produced one.
It may have taken years for the teacher to acquire the skills needed to create a two hour experience. So when you are attempting to bend a neon tube, straining the whey for a cheese or even jarring honey, think 'lucky us', for you are getting an insight into the process that is creating.
