I recently made a baby quilt in a fun collaboration with the friend I was making it for (Genevieve Saenz, our first podcast interview). While deciding what fabric swatches to use, we talked about our individual approaches to sewing and what setting aside time for making things does for our wellbeing. Then somehow after an exhausting week of work, I was energized by figuring out how to piece this bad boy together and level up from basic blankets to a real quilt with binding. As I pieced it together, I realized it was just as exciting for me to TALK with my friend about why we make various kinds of art and what goes through our brains during these creative sessions. I also realized I had a community of friends with similar hobbies, be it music, performance, painting, writing, architecture, building, and growing… and I wanted to set aside time to celebrate their processes. I then asked my old high school pal, Amber Moreno, if she’d help me put this podcast together as my producer. We’d been crafty together more times than I could count, and I value her creative direction to elevate the ideas in ways I couldn’t imagine without collaboration. Plus, her sultry delivery from previous radio and voice-over work make for a fine intro and outro.
Hopefully, our discussions will inspire our listeners to try the project they’ve been putting off or been intimidated by, because sometimes it’s the DOING that makes art worthwhile. I’ve heard people tell me from time to time that they aren’t creative when they asked about a project I’m working on, and I promise you, that’s their own critic getting in the way. We are all creative. We were all daydreaming kids who colored for hours or put together dance routines. We all played with instruments to explore sounds. We only learned to be self-conscious of our imperfect efforts when trying new things as we got older or someone told us we weren’t good at it. Around here, we encourage each other. So how about we just all agree that we are amazing and we should all go out and make some art?
Chatty Crafties 