What I Learned from Other Crafters

The last few weeks, we have shared several crafters from the Ozark Folk Center and Silver Dollar City’s Fall Festival. Each one has their own unique craft and story of how they got where they are today. We can learn so much from the creative people around us. These are the things I learned from our time interviewing the crafters.

1. True artistry encourages others to try.

The people that are truly artists, people who really love what they do, seem to want to talk and share what they do. They want you to be inspired by their art. They teach others how to do what they do. They aren’t afraid of you stealing their work because they know it takes creativity and hard work to make it happen. If you put in the time and effort, then you deserve success. People who are just trying to make money are afraid of inspiring you. They just want you to buy their stuff. I choose to create for the love of it. If I make some money off of it, that is great and helpful to my family, but if I can inspire someone to tap into their own creativity, then I have accomplished something even greater.

2. If you think you aren’t creative, try new things till you find your niche.

Many of the crafters we talked to tried several artistic mediums before they settled into what they really loved. Mom and I are always asking each other what our “thing” is. We love to try new things all the time, but we felt like we hadn’t figured out the thing that we love and are best at. Through talking to other crafters, mom and I have realized the things that we love the most (mom and I will share those in other posts). We will continue to do other forms of creativity, but we have admitted to ourselves what we must not be afraid to pursue. Maybe you haven’t found what you truly love, but you should keep trying things out. Take a class. Ask a friend to teach you what they do. You just might find it.

If you already had your niche and something prevents you from doing it, you might just have the opportunity to find something new that you will love just as much. Many of the crafters started off doing one form of art, and for one reason or another had to move into something else. It ended up that it was even more successful for them. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

3. Creativity breeds more creativity.

If you just start doing something, anything, you will get those creative juices flowing and you will find yourself with more and more ideas. If you are needing to do something creative but don’t feel into it yet, do another form of creativity to get your mind thinking in the creative direction. If you need to paint and are stuck, try writing first. If you need to write and you can’t find the words, try drawing a picture first. If you need to write a song and nothing is coming, cut out inspiring pictures and make a collage. Sitting around saying that your are stuck or that you aren’t feeling creative will not get you anywhere. Start with something and you’ll find the new ideas will come.

If you know anyone around you that is pursuing creativity for a living, talk to them, and I am sure you will learn something too!

If you missed any of our posts about the crafters, check out their inspiring art.