As a child, I looked forward to visiting our weekend neighbor, Mrs. Hale. Her little cabin was filled with unusual things—wooden bowls, an ornate woodburning stove and games my sisters and I didn't own. We would play Kooties, explore in the barn and pick grape hyacinths. I once found an old horseshoe under a shrub and felt like an archeologist.What I anticipated most was seeing her latest craft/art project. Mrs. Hale was an artist specializing in miniatures. Or perhaps she was a miniaturist specializing in oils since so many of her creations were small scale.
She painted little oil paintings (about 3" x 4") set on tiny easels made by her husband. One weekend I took an art lesson from her and painted my own miniature of a barn in winter. I was surprised to learn that snow is blue!
Crocheted dollhouse rugs, Kewpie dolls in fancy clothes made from satin ribbon—so many things. We didn't do many art projects on our visits but we did observe that pretty things didn't need to come from stores.
Mrs. Hale reinforced this valuable lesson—first learned from my parents and grandparents—that everything is made by someone, why not by you? She also taught by example, where lessons are often disguised as adventures.
These lessons came back to me as I admired the necklaces in a book on needleweaving. They seemed too complicated to undertake—until I read the caption on one of them: First Attempt. I decided it was do-able and headed for Hobby Lobby with my supply list.
Needleweaving proved challenging, but that was part of its appeal (along with the final result). Even as I was working on that first piece, ideas for future necklaces were interrupting my concentration. Call it hobby, craft or art, creating something for yourself is not only possible, but limitless. I know it's true; I learned it from Mrs. Hale.
Postscript: Mrs. Hale often shopped at Goodwill for supplies, another lesson I embraced and a topic worthy of its own post.
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