All photos by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood.
Hello Friends!
I’m very excited that I will be recording audio and video podcasts at Midwest Craft Con Feb. 19-21 in Columbus, Ohio, so get in touch if you’re going and interested in recording in person during the conference. Some of the topics I’m interested in discussing are listed below but I’m most definitely not limiting discussions to what’s on the list. I’m interested in recording the traditional CraftSanity artist profiles, too. Feel free to email me if you have a story to share.
* Failing Up & Starting Over – Have you flamed out, lost steam or flat out failed to get your big dream off the ground only to have to head back to the drawing board to regroup and try again? What did you learn from this experience? How did it change you? How are you better off after that initial stumble or misstep? What advice do you have for others who haven’t gotten all the way across the bridge to success yet? Or are you still working through this process? What motivates you to try even harder to stick the landing this time time around? When should you call it quits? How are you working to build momentum again?
* What is your superpower and how do you use it? What is your kryptonite and how do you work around it? True confession: I’ve been binge watching superhero shows on Netflix and I’m addicted. There’s something about going after bad guys with non-lethal, bad*ss moves that really appeals to me. But, sadly, I’m not a superhero (and I would not be able to reveal this if I was). The point is we all have different strengths and weakness and I’m interested in talking to creative folks about how you use both to be successful.
* Handmade as self-help – This topic is the core of the CraftSanity philosophy. I make stuff when I’m happy, sad, and in between. It’s how I breathe and how I process just about everything I experience in life. When babies are born I knit blankets and make quilts. I print my kids custom t-shirts for special events and friend birthdays. When the weekly art & craft column I wrote for many years was cut, I wrote a column reflecting on what I learned from all the wonderful artists and crafters who invited me into their homes and studios and then I made a modern quilt with a hand-carved and printed “Thank you” message on it to photograph and publish with the column. I’m interested in hearing how you have used art and craft to create your way through difficult times and any advice you might have for others going through a rough patch right now. What would you say to inspire someone to try to pick up a paint brush, crochet hook or embroidery needle as a calming act of self-empowerment?
* The best/worst handmade gift ever – My mom has graciously accepted some hideous handmade stuff that I’ve made her through the years. (It took me a couple decades to get good at this stuff, what can I say?) And while handmade gifts remain my favorite, sometimes they are terrible. I want to hear about the best and worst handmade gifts you’ve ever given or received. Bonus points to those who bring the item or a photo of it along. : )
* Let’s dream out loud, okay?! – I’m a huge fan of bucket lists and really like to ask people I know and strangers, too, what they would do if they could do anything. Aside from my very unlikely but fun dream of owning a lavender farm on Lake Michigan waterfront, I would love to travel the country, towing a shiny Airstream trailer equipped with a modest recording booth and interview artists and crafters along the way. I would load my trailer with my printmaking and other art and craft supplies and I would skill share with the people I meet along the way. I would teach what I know and learn from everyone I meet and write a book and shoot a documentary about the experience. I’d blog about it, too.
So what about you? What would you do if you could do anything? I want to broadcast a show featuring creative people dreaming out loud. Whether or not you go through with it is secondary to that first step of dreaming out loud. It’s fun and who knows – someone might hear your dream and want to partner with you to make it happen. Wouldn’t that be awesome?! : )
Check out my interview with one of the Midwest Craft Con organizers
Ok, I have a million more ideas, but I’ll stop here because there will be great workshops going on at the conference and it’s clear that I already have lost sight of the time restrictions that I’ll be contending with. I hope some of these topics ideas inspire you to want to join a conversation with me and the other cool people we meet up with at the conference. I’ll see you in Ohio in February. : )
P.S. I’ll bring my turquoise etching press along and maybe we can print a bit while we chat… : )
