#YearOfMaking

Last year, I followed Kim Werker's #YearOfMaking with delight, enjoying her creative process and what she produced.  She was making soap, doodling, crocheting, baking with her son, sewing, all kinds of making going on. I remember thinking: I could totally make one thing a day, no problem. I didn't even need to get as complicated as making soap.
So when she put out her ebook to help readers in their own #YearOfMaking journey, I took up the challenge,  on a whim, really and because I like to support the people I know in their creative endeavors. I bought the ebook and dove right in.

(Speaking of which, my friend Tim is self-publishing his first collection of short stories, We Regret to Inform You. He's a great writer, and a great guy. Check it out, and pre-order your copy!) 

This year, I resolved not to make any resolutions but in a way, the #YearOfMaking is a resolution. It is a resolution to indulge a creative side, to make room in my life for making and creating. It's a resolution I can get behind.

Jeez. I wasn't really anticipating that the #YearOfMaking would require so much effort, considering that I thought I already made a lot. It's not that I thought it would be easy but I thought it would come naturally to pop down to my sewing room or pull out some paper and coloring implements or whatever else I felt like creating. It turns out, I do make something everyday and it's usually food-related! That's not really the stretching I had in mind when I set out to do this. I didn't think I'd require so much energy or that I'd be too tired at the end of the day.

Why am I not carving out time IN my day for #YearOfMaking instead of waiting until the end of the day, when I'm really not at my best? I guess because during the day, I'm either at work or I'm tending to the household and the creatures that live in it.

I freely admit that I'm not disciplined and I never really push myself to a limit. if I can do it, I do it. If I can't, I either do it half-assed or just don't do it at all. The #YearOfMaking, I've come to find, early as it is in the game, is not just about indulging your creative side but it's also about challenging yourself, making a commitment, and following it through. (Definitely sounds like a classic NYE resolution!). It's about taking yourself out of your comfort zone and having the temerity to try your hand at something new. It's also about acknowledging the making you already do, on a daily basis, and not discounting that.

So, I'm still in this and I'm rechristening it 365 Non-Consecutive Days of Making, but I'll still be using the #YearOfMaking hashtag on Instagram.