Staying Mindful in a Mindless World
Every day we are bombarded with surreal news beyond the most imaginative satire, leaving us shell-shocked, digging through the rubble for some semblance of normalcy. In this time of upheaval, I’m stuck in middle age. Suddenly I see that many women of my generation are struggling with the privilege and curse of reinvention after age 40. We’re adapting to a changing world by shifting careers or establishing an independent self apart from family life, while seeking respite from the chaos of modern life.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how this generation is coping with the current state of the world. Not very well, I’m afraid. Gen-X is the first generation to both embrace the Internet and remember life before it. We turned our backs on the materialism of the ‘80s and were dubbed “slackers” due to our disillusionment. Raised in a buy-everything consumer culture under the inequality of trickle-down economics, we became cynical, turning off and inward against impending responsibility. We watched our anti-heroes fade away with a sense of detached understanding. Now we have kids, mortgages, jobs — and despair for a world that we never fully accepted.
Middle age is hard. Some days I barely feel like an adult until I hear my arthritic knees crunching down the stairs. I find myself connecting too closely with the teenage angst in my household, reliving and repeating my own search for identity. But then I find small periods of creative peace and clarity. If we don’t make space for ourselves, no one else will. Mindful making can bring us back to center, answering our deep, primal need for tactile fulfillment. Whether it’s with paper cutting, embroidery, knitting, quilting, or painting, you can turn repetitive tasks into a mindful, restorative practice. The communication between hand and mind seems to rewire my brain and ground me for another day of slogging through middle age in an absurd world. I need it now more than ever.
How about you? Has creativity helped you through anxiety, depression, grief, or trauma? I’d love to share your stories about mindful making for an upcoming project. Get in touch here.
Fabric Bucket Tutorial
Here’s a quick and easy gift idea for spring! Find the tutorial here. I used some of my offset printed fabric made from my papercut designs. You can find more fabric in my shop.
Links
DMC Stitch Contest Provokes Artists to Submit Subversive Designs from Craft Industry Alliance.
Last week was Fashion Revolution Week, but you can still do some research on who made your clothes and participate in Me Made May this month.
What About “The Breakfast Club”? Revisiting the movies of my youth in the age of #MeToo from Molly Ringwald for The New Yorker.
These Hyperrealistic Portraits Are Actually Made from Yarn from Artsy.
If you’re at International Quilt Market this month, be sure to look for my upcoming collection for Kokka! Featuring three designs on cotton/linen blend in three colorways each, including this Llama print with gold metallic accents.
Thanks for reading.
-Ellen