Throwback Thursday - evolution of a crafter

I've been a crafter for a long time.  It probably started with Brownies.  I was obsessed with badges, and many of the badges for both Brownies and Girl Guides required making things.



Ta-wit-ta-wit-ta-woo, give me all the badges.

My collector's badge project.  Later made into landscapes and creatures

Success!  So many badges.

 

 I set up my first craft shop when I was about 8.  It was a roadside stand out front of my grandparent's house in Deep Bay, B.C.  They had a gorgeous property on the water where my sister and I were often shipped for a week of our summer vacations.  It was heavenly.  Besides raiding gardens and swimming in the bath-warm water of the Georgia Straight, I tried my luck as an entrepreneur.  My first endeavour - a joke stand, a dime a joke, was a bust.  I had but one pity sale.  Lemonade was too cliche, so I decided arts and crafts were a better fit.  I borrowed my grandfather's hot glue gun and began creating little statues out of driftwood, clam shells, seaweed and other found-objects.  They were a hit.  The strategic location of my stand - just outside the entrance of a campground, was a definite bonus.

For Christmas that year, I was given a glue gun.  It was the best Christmas present ever, and I still have and use it.

Crafter's manifesto...

High school art class - an excuse to stare
at pictures of Mikhail Baryshnikov to study his...form.

I was the queen of posters, and my science projects and history displays had as much style as substance.  I also took on roles in year book and photography to feed my inner need for creativity. 

Ancient things in an ancient lab - I had though archaeology involved more whips and horseback riding.

In university, this side of me took a hit as the projects undertaken were focused more on writing, though I did manage a job in the archaeology lab that had me photographing and sketching artifacts.

I taught myself how to knit in my twenties and got back into sewing at the same time.  I've never stopped sketching or writing, and crochet has now exploded in my life as my go to tactile therapy.

And so concludes this little trip down memory lane.  To my Brownie compatriots, you are welcome for posting that exceptional photo of us.

xoxo
s.