Song of the Week - Saeglopur by Sigor Rós
This week's newsletter is all about our little winter DIY dens. Don't worry, little hobbits, your crafting is actually a pretty healthy hobby. Sigor Rós makes pretty good flow state music - Could it be because it takes a high level of creativity to invent a language in addition to its musical backdrop?
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The Long Form - Craft, Design, and Ritual
In the long winter months in cold places, there's a tradition of turning to craft work to bide our time until the ice melts. We've been adding some new projects to our craft repertoire because we love to explore new art forms. We did some silkscreening over the Christmas holiday; learned how to felt a little mushroom; and got back into sewing projects with some new techniques under our belt.
What is it about making art with our hands that has us delighted to spend our precious moments of downtime busy: planning and designing and building and shaping objects out of our own imaginations?
There's an aspect to DIY and crafting that expands your brain in ways that other hobbies cannot. Knowing the ins and outs of raw materials and understanding how to manipulate those materials will create new connections in your brain. Rather than zoning out, you're zoning in.
Knit one, purl one - the repetitive motions in knitting and other textile work can be likened to meditation, other stimuli seem to fade away as you zone in on the pattern forming between your fingers. Crafting encapsulates the idea of a flow state - you can lose yourself for hours knitting that scarf, cross-stitching that obscenity, or hewing some logs for your timber frame cabin.
The elements of repetitive motion and project conceptualization are very soothing conditions for our brains. Finding purposeful and meaningful activities "could counter the effects of stress-related diseases and reduce the risk for dementia" according to a 2007 study. So when do you think we'll see crafting and cannabis on the schedule at retirement homes?
We're going to take the next few newsletters to talk about craft, because it's what we're all about. If you know someone making something amazing, send them our way, we'd love to feature them. Coming up next: the art of mending.
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The News: Hey there, Neighbo(u)r
Six weeks into Michigan's legal cannabis market, 10 million dollars of cannabis has been sold. Not bad for a population of 9.9 million, we'd like to imagine everyone chipped in a dollar. Michigan is matching the appetite up here in the Great White North, where sales in Canada were 54 million in November 2018 for our population of 37.6 million. The race is on.
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The Social Calendar
- Halifax, NS: Acrylic Pouring Intro Class by The Acrylic Pouring Studio at Bedford Basin's Farmers' Market on Sunday, January 19th from 1 - 3pm
- Winnipeg, MB: Winter Forest Meditation & Mindfulness Retreat by Kadampa Meditation Centre at FortWhyte Alive on Saturday, January 18th at 7pm
- Penticton, BC: DIY Doormat Workshop by Pineapple and Lace at Red Rooster Winery on Thursday, January 30th from 6:30 - 9pm
- Calgary, AB: DIY Terrarium Workshop by Plant Shop on Wednesday, January 22nd from 6:30 - 8:30pm
- Toronto, ON: Drawing for Terrified Beginners by LucSculpture School and Studios on Thursday, January 30th from 6:30 - 9:00pm
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High Art
Take a few moments to put your work down and enjoy a little daydream fodder...
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Found Magazine by Davy Rothbart
The art of note writing may be dying, but this website is a tribute to the weirdest and wackiest things printed on paper.
Take the Bait
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Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Check out the shortlist, or if you're in Toronto, visit the Royal Ontario Museum to see them almost as large as life.
Take the Bait
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'GOLDMAN v SILVERMAN' by Elara Pictures
The struggle is real...
Take the Bait
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Hey Vancouver - keep your stick on the ice!
- Emma & Carol
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