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Craftfulness

Mend Yourself by Making Things

Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
3 of 3 copies available
3 of 3 copies available

Integrating mindfulness, neuroscience, positive psychology, and creativity research, Craftfulness offers a thought-provoking and surprising reconsideration of craft, and how making things with your hands can connect us to our deepest selves and improve our well-being and overall happiness.

We should get this out of the way: Craftfulness is not a "crafting book." Rather, it is an investigation of the wisdom generations of men and women know to be true: that making things is a vital means of self-expression, self-realization, and self-help that sparks the mind, touches the soul, and rejuvenates the spirit.

Integrating mindfulness, neuroscience, positive psychology, and creativity research, Rosemary Davidson and Arzu Tahsin explore how the simple act of making something from scratch impacts mental well-being, and offer a brilliantly reasoned argument in favor of craft.

Process, not product, is the soul of a craft practice. Whether you knit, crochet, sculpt, weave, quilt, tat, draw, or bind books—working toward small, attainable goals gives us a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and control that is proven to positively impact our mental health and happiness.

Davidson and Tahsin illuminate how craft practice re-introduces balance into our lives and our habits by cultivating creativity, carving space for ourselves, promoting focus, creating a safe space for failure, and ultimately, how to make peace with imperfection.

Like Matthew B. Crawford's Shop Class as Soul Craft, Ken Robinson's Out of Our Minds, or Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow, Craftfulness helps us to see our world in a new way, offering opportunities to disconnect from the world, and pay attention to ourselves.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Engaging in crafts creates more than a quilt, a painting, or a ceramic bowl--it creates peace of mind, say authors Davidson and Tahsin. Narrator Joan Walker delivers this message about the therapeutic qualities of crafting with enthusiasm that mirrors this celebration of traditional crafts. Walker's lilting narration occasionally blurs narrative transitions such as moving to quotations and research studies, but her animated voice clearly delivers the instructions for each project and brings home the benefits of engaging the hands in a craft. These include reducing stress and developing discipline and a sense of control that allows us to be more self-reliant and confident. This ardent appeal to discover authenticity and fulfillment by practicing a craft will encourage creatives and noncreatives alike. M.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
    • Booklist

      December 1, 2018
      This book's subtitle really sums it up. In recent years, the mental health benefits of creating have been noted by many, including Davidson and Tahsin, who have both enjoyed long careers in publishing. Part one of the book explores the authors' philosophy of making and uses research to demonstrate the value of hand crafting as self-care. The second section offers strategies for making time for creating, choosing a project and getting started, and dealing with the things that might hold one back. Part three includes simple projects accompanied by essays that expand on the reasons for doing them. Quotes from noted authors and makers are interspersed, offering concise insights into the beauty and importance of creating. Appendixes offer brief lists of recommended reading, inspirational websites, and materials suppliers. Many makers find that they are unable to pin themselves down to just one type of pursuit, and this book celebrates and encourages that. This light meditation on the purpose and benefits of creative endeavors should have wide appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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