Saturday, August 17, 2013

Creativity and Connecting with Others

In a piece written by Catherine Doherty, the author describes how creativity is a creation of God and can bring people who are strangers together and form a bond.  The following paragraphs are straight from her work titled "God’s Troubadours of Beauty: Artist and handicrafts" by Catherine Doherty.

“Arts and crafts made by one’s own hands, reflecting the ingenuity and creation of one’s own mind can bring beauty into the world and make God’s presence more visible.  For all creative effort is from God, and God is Beauty itself.

 “As a bridge of communication, especially with those who speak different languages or who may be fearful, shy, or sick, crafts often bring special blessings. There is something reassuring, homey, pleasant, and relaxing in seeing someone embroidering or knitting on a train. One feels a trust and confidence about such a person. If one has some similar work at hand, one becomes friends almost without words. Or one might ask what the other is making and a bond of friendship, gentle and warm, is established with this person who only a short time ago was a stranger. The craft is the bridge.”

The reality of what Ms. Doherty was expressing in her writing proved to be true as I attended a sewing meetup recently and experienced first hand what she described. This meetup was held at the Bayside Historical Society in the beautiful Fort Totten Park. The craft indeed became the bridge as a group of women from different boroughs gathered together to sew, crochet, and knit and share stories. One wouldn't be able to tell that the women had not met before. All shared tips, resources and ideas and each presented a work in progress or finished project. It was great to have a chunk of time designated just for that purpose. Most of us have such busy schedules with work, family and other obligations that it's often difficult to find time to sew. 

            I asked Nellie the organizer recently to tell us her reason behind organizing the sewing circle and she stated the following: “I came from a family of people who knew how to sew in every day life and with modern work requirement, there is very little opportunity to use our hands to make things. Sewing is very peaceful and stress-relieving. Sewing as a task is very isolating, but historically it was a way to socialize and for communities of women to get together and help each other out. I started the meetup so I could meet other people who were interested in keeping the tradition alive and also meet others who love to create!”

            Thank you Nellie for starting the group and allowing us to come together in such a great space that  helps get our creativity flowing.  Thank you to the ladies with all the great talents who are so willing to help and share with all of us.

Below are some pictures of the sewing meetup. To read Catherine Doherty’s full essay follow the link http://www.madonnahouse.org/publications/passiton/Pass-It-On-028.htm


We shared information from fabric stores, to sewing schools, and where to get discounted patterns.
Individual introductions and stories of how we began sewing, knitting or quilting were shared.
Here we had a chance to look at everyone's finished projects or work in progress.
Back at our seats for some more sewing. We had all levels from beginner to advance.
The featured project of the day consisted of surgi dolls. The meetup partnered with Project Sunshine who provided the supplies to make the dolls. The dolls were then to be donated to help children prepare for surgery and other medical procedures. This was my first time finishing any project in one sitting. For more information on surgi dolls view  http://www.projectsunshine.org/programs/prog-sendingsunshine.php 

5 comments:

  1. This is very inspiring and I'm glad you're living your Kefi, doing the things that make you happy and things that bring joy to your life as well as the life of others!

    PS.. that location looks sooooo nice!

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  2. I missed this post Awilda - I try and pay a visit every so often . Sounds like you have a lovely day learning all sorts of things - and what a beautiful building.

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  3. Hi Sarah thank you for visiting. I don't post too often as I would like to because I'm still working on a few projects. And yes it was such a lovely and peaceful day, I wish they would get together more often.

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  4. Would you please consider adding the gadget to allow someone to follow your blog via email subscription? It is so much easier when new posts come right to your inbox,. Thanks.

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    1. Thank you Nancy for the suggestion, I just added it to the blog.

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