Let's save that for later...
At the start of the week I decided to start teaching my daughter some sewing basics. I am by no means a tailor, but I can manage if I need - and I think that everyone should be able to do some simple mends like sew a button, or fix a seam. Even if it only has to hold for a day - like the the dress I altered for my wife for our wedding.
Yes - I saw her in her dress before the wedding.
But using an old pair of jeans of mine for fabric, we went about planning and drawing a pattern (a dachshund), pinning it to the fabric, cutting it out, and bit by bit, hand-sewed it all together - as we don't have a sewing machine. After which, we turned it the right way out, and stuffed it with filling. The lesson wasn't for sewing anyway really - it was about planning, patience, and the joy of making something tangible.
Smallsteps gave the dog as a present to her mum.
Too much of what we do these days isn't attached to anything tangible. So much of the time we have is spent consuming and not creating. And I think we keep lowering the bar on what is creative. This has been sped along even faster with the mass adoption of generative-AI, but I think people should remember - it isn't called creative-AI.
I also reckon that there is a huge problem with the speed and ease of production, where in moments, a brilliant result can be accomplished that is far better than 99.99% of the users could do themselves, all with a few prompts.
The result might be good, but there is no skin in the game from the "prompter" and no cost to getting the design wrong. There is no hand skill necessary, no coordination, no learning from a missed stitch that splits open to reveal the stuffing inside. There is no inside, and the prompter has little insight into what goes into getting the result. Are they an artist?
The bar is low these days.
The value of what is created is lower. Which is what happens when there is oversupply, and bit enough demand. There are demands on the tools, but of there aren't the consumers to soak it in - it is just attention bloat.
With no one to attend.
All these calls on attention coming from spaces where there is no limit on venues, and the cost of creating a show is approaching zero. It is a small town with a thousand professional stadiums, all rubbing a game at the same time. The stands are empty, because there aren't enough people in the city to attend all, even if they were interested.
We understand that money inflation drives up the number cost of what we purchase. We know that a litre of milk is a litre of milk no matter the cost. And we also know that an oversupply of milk drives the price down. But, a lot of what is "created" now isn't like milk, and there is no limit on the supply, no land required, no cows, no farmhands - no farmer. So much of the consumer business is like this now, which means that profits can be maximized by concentrating the production. This also means the supply chain is cheaper, and less people get paid adequately along the way.
More wealth gap contributors.
Just like the businesses, we are also looking to produce for less - or perhaps it is "have for less" - where we don't want to produce, we just want the results. Like the idea of winning the lottery is far more attractive than doing all the work to become wealthy. We are looking for workless wealth, which is driven ever harder by the media industry - with influencer platforms, and porn platforms, and get rich quick schemes and all the celebrities peddling their wares. The bar for what is considered a "content creator" has been lowered to dancing naked on camera.
Yet, the more efficient people can generate content using the latest tools, the unhappier they seem to become. I think this comes down to our human need to actually create something of value - not just pretend to. And I think that a big part of making content creation efficient, is that it is no longer about enjoyment, interest, care, or love - it is transactional - just for the result.
There are few craftspeople these days.
Nearly everyone is a personally-branded business though.
I am hoping that my daughter finds some loves in her life. The kinds of things that she can turn to whenever, and just create for enjoyment. Just tonight, her grandma messaged my wife and said that she has knitted another pair of socks for her and asked, "is your sock draw full, because I don't know if I can stop this knitting passion?".
That is pretty cool, isn't it?
Maybe for me it is writing.
Is it tangible?
I will put a pin in that thought for now.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Whew! I'm glad you didn't alter the dress without seeing her in it, and I know you didn't have your eyes closed lol.
She's so young yet and there is plenty of time for her to foster a love of many interests.I feel like @smallsteps will absolutely find some loves in her life. She is already so inquisitive and inventive, which are almost prerequisites to creativity. She plays piano which is a very creative endeavor.
Kudos to Grandma for knitting and not stopping! lol.. I spin yarn (a love of mine) but I find the knitting difficult (I prefer weaving).
You are in your element with writing, I feel. You are productive, eloquent, elaborate and not afraid to hit on sensitive topics. Highly creative. Come back to that pin and write a book or three.
Might have done a better job! :D
Like carpets and tapestries? Btw, I always think of Rumpelstiltskin when I hear about spinning yarn - or in Australia - telling a highly embellished story!
Or wound up with a wife with more holes than she was born with lol
I have woven a few Navajo rugs, which are essentially a tapestry for the floor. Mostly home goods and sometimes yardage for clothing. We have the same meaning for spinning a yarn here, aka tall tales. Rumpelstiltskin was a weird little thing, wasn't he? I used to love fairy tales when I was young...guess I still do!
Fun fact: Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on her spindle and fell into a 100 year sleep. Sheep's wool from an infected animal carries the anthrax spores which would have put her down for sure lol. Not sure about the 100 years, though.
I've been knitting since I was a little girl, of course I don't have the same dexterity and skill that my grandmother had, but I do the best I can. It's not very common to see men knitting, but there are, so you are a very versatile man.
I can't knit - I can sew! Knitting would be cool though. There was a time in Finland where every woman could knit - but only the hipsters can now :D
Indeed, we have been technology dependant over the years, which has weakened our productivity. We either ask Google or AI even what to do. Today I watched a vidoe that a wife ask Chat GPT to what to cook in the evening 😄
People have become so mindless, but it is so much more convenient not to think.
creative imagination works best when we have passion doing what we love. what does she love to do most, i think we can know more about their passions while they grow up if we pay a very close attention on the things they love doing or participating in., i can tell your daughter is very smart from your write up
What if the main thing one loves is to eat junk food? :D
lolzzzz 🤣😂 that aint passion, my sister love junks basically she eats it everyday we call it addiction cause eating the junk is not creatimg value aside from enruching those who produce it rather its damaging her health.
I dunno - I have seen some people digging into a burger like its foreplay.
lolzz🤣🤣🤣 they are addicted to junk just as a regular smoker is addicted to his cigarettes or cannabis
Smallstep is smart she will find hers in no time. You are very good at writing and yes it's tangible
When I was a kid my mom was the leader of our local 4H chapter. I don't know if that is a thing over there and I don't even know what 4H stands for. It usually had to do with animals and husbandry, so maybe that is one of the H's, but it also had to do with arts and crafts. Not really the first thing on my list to do a as a young boy, but I am glad I did. I learned how to cross stitch and lots of other stuff. My mom is a beast when it comes to crocheting and knitting. I should think about having her teach me those things sometime.
The sewing project sounds cute XD
J offered numerous times to get me a sewing machine as I do all the repairs I'm capable of (and occasionally attempt some that I'm not and find out the hard way if I'm capable, incapable or eventually capable XD). I rejected each time as I hate vibrations.
also I don't know where we'd put it, he's always the one that complains that we have no storage except when he wants to get stuff like this for reasons
He then said he'd get me one of those oldschool pedal powered ones.
storing that one would be objectively worse as they're massive and I feel like I'd be somehow more likely to run myself through than I already am
Given some of the text equivalents of screaming tantrums I've witnessed around the place, some are very definitely extremely desperate to be considered so.
Expanding on the "value" aspect of this, I feel that the people that are unhappy despite pumping out heaps and heaps of content "doing what they love" actually love the attention more than the activity. My own experience and anecdotal evidence from a statistically insignificant sample size of artists and writers and handcrafters tells me that if you love the activity the attention is a bonus (even if you do have to pay more attention to the attention because you decided to try making money off the thing you love).
Back in school days one time for some reason I decided to cut my own hair. One classmate said that I looked good and could be a barber.😛
What a dad. Teaching her sewing is certainly more than just a skill, it’s a whole lesson on patience, creativity and making something real. With AI everything’s so fast now, but there’s something special about actually putting in the effort, messing up and learning along the way