100 Things Number 2: Why Do I Create?

[dreamflower]

{Take the 100 Things challenge!}

Why Do I Create?

Nearly everything I have learned to do in the way of art and craft has been for one of two reasons: because I wanted to have something that I could not have unless I made it myself or because I thought it would be fun to try.

There is, of course, that third category: things I learned because almost everyone does learn them whether they want to or not, but which served me well later on as I began to enjoy them. Writing, cooking -- those are things I learned to enjoy right from the start. Other things I did not like so much, but grew into them, such as sewing.

Often I simply want something—the desire to have a wearable art LotR jacket got me to bring out the sewing machine. I decided that I wanted it to be a very organic experience, so the only part I planned out in advance was the structure of the garment itself. It was fun to randomly add my embellishments— scenes from the movie done on fabric which I made with my printer; lace; embroidery, both hand and machine; purchased embellishments like little pewter mushrooms or an eagle appliqué—all of this was immensely fun to work on.

But sometimes I just want to experiment with a new and intriguing technique. Most often that's what I'm doing when I play with polymer clay. Knitting is another craft with which I like to experiment: dishcloths are the ideal way to play with new patterns and stitches!

Fandom contributes a lot to what I enjoy creating of course. Fanfiction satisfies a particular need in me that my other crafts do not come close to fulfilling. Writing is a much different process for me mentally than something like painting and cooking. Most of my other projects are challenging in the planning and learning stage—they are less work for me as I near the end, and I rarely get stuck from finishing for anything but practical reasons. But writing is something that I must give my whole mind to from start to finish—and sometimes gets harder as I go, especially with longer stories. Yet when I complete a story, the vindication I feel is far more visceral than that which I feel when I finish other sorts of projects. Fanfiction is also a more social sort of creativity, as I share my stories online, and receive feedback and con-crit, often while a story is still a work-in-progress.

For me, to create is to fill an itch that buying something will not scratch. There is a sense of joy in the process, and a sense of vindication when I finish, as well as pride in the new knowledge I gain every time I work on a project, whether it is as complicated as a multi-chapter epic fic, or as simple as making up and cooking a new recipe.

How about you? Why do you create things? And what sorts of things do you create?