I always thought I wasn’t “good with my hands” because I struggled with drawing and making crafts as a child. When I was 25, I finally learned how to knit and realized it comes pretty easily to me now.
My mother is an artist and teacher and talks about how many people wrote off creative endeavors because of an early art class. So glad you persevered with knitting—scarves for everyone? :)
I have two sisters, and the one who directly followed me in birth order is in so many ways my opposite. I am skinny, she is full-bodied; I am often calm, she experiences the world in turbulence; I am artistic, and she has incredible scientific intelligence. As kids, I was viewed and treated as quiet, artistic, sensitive, clumsy, reliably good; she was treated as explosive, strong, ferocious, focused, impressive. When it came to getting things done around the house (and we were a family that did chores, like, REAL chores), my sister was my dad's pride for her strong shoulders - check out my kid carrying 10 lbs of topsoil! Whereas each time I tried a new sport, I earned a new, lame injury.
Over the years I've channeled my creativity and interest in sustainability to find ways to make do with what I have, or what I find. I have also channeled my feminism and identity as an often-single woman into being good at taking care of my physical surroundings. I have learned to fix dishwashers, put out fires, install all kinds of wall mounts and hangers, use a few power tools. I am working on my second desk now, and while I'm slow, I am proud to know the language, the pitfalls, and what to prepare. Being handy has become one of my favorite surprise identities.
I always thought I wasn’t “good with my hands” because I struggled with drawing and making crafts as a child. When I was 25, I finally learned how to knit and realized it comes pretty easily to me now.
My mother is an artist and teacher and talks about how many people wrote off creative endeavors because of an early art class. So glad you persevered with knitting—scarves for everyone? :)
I have two sisters, and the one who directly followed me in birth order is in so many ways my opposite. I am skinny, she is full-bodied; I am often calm, she experiences the world in turbulence; I am artistic, and she has incredible scientific intelligence. As kids, I was viewed and treated as quiet, artistic, sensitive, clumsy, reliably good; she was treated as explosive, strong, ferocious, focused, impressive. When it came to getting things done around the house (and we were a family that did chores, like, REAL chores), my sister was my dad's pride for her strong shoulders - check out my kid carrying 10 lbs of topsoil! Whereas each time I tried a new sport, I earned a new, lame injury.
Over the years I've channeled my creativity and interest in sustainability to find ways to make do with what I have, or what I find. I have also channeled my feminism and identity as an often-single woman into being good at taking care of my physical surroundings. I have learned to fix dishwashers, put out fires, install all kinds of wall mounts and hangers, use a few power tools. I am working on my second desk now, and while I'm slow, I am proud to know the language, the pitfalls, and what to prepare. Being handy has become one of my favorite surprise identities.