When you think about the differences between adulthood and childhood the most common things that come to mind might be, maturity vs. immaturity, wisdom vs. naïveté, responsible vs. carefree.
But it occurs to me now that one of the biggest differences between children and adults might be their ability to move out of their comfort zones. For children, so many experiences are new and different. The start of every new school year brings adjustments. Often they don't get to choose many of their new experiences. Swimming lessons come to mind from my childhood. Even their clothing and I dare say their own skin isn't comfortable for any length of time. This seasons favorite pants are next seasons hand me downs. And yet for all the constant readjustments children fare pretty well through the endless flow of change to uncharted and uncomfortable new places. Are they better at it because they are young and more resilient or simply because they do it so much?
I don't know exactly what happens as we become adults but part of it is the application of caution. A worthy skill to have. But, in my case I could stand to focus a little less on the what could go wrong scenarios and think about what could go right a little more often.. I like being comfortable and feeling safe. But I also know the quote above is true. I have on occasion experienced the exhilaration of stepping outside of my comfort zone. I wrote about one such occasion here.
So here is to trying something new. Venturing out into uncharted waters or whatever you wish to call it. Last week I posted a video of myself. I was a little nervous and uncomfortable. But remarkably I survived the experience and now it seems easier. I will probably make my next video without feeling nearly so far out of my comfort zone. I know that is how it works. The minute you do a thing you are uncomforatble with, you become more comforatble with it. Yet I still have difficulty leaving my comfy space.
Case in point below.
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Upcycled Fused Plastic Coin Purses
I have been helping my sister with her business the last couple of weeks by sewing some small coin purses for her. She makes purses and bags from recycled / upcycled plastic. She creates the "fabric" for all her designs mostly from single use plastic bags. Here are just a few of the recent materials she has made.
She does it useing this simple process of fusing but the designs she comes up with are really an art form all of their own. I made this video for her a while back which gives a brief overview of her range of talent. Now I know I might be biased but check it out and see if you don't agree.
Here are a few of the coins purses that I sewed for her.
We are getting ready for a big recycling / upcycling show in Santa Fe at the beginning of December. I say we because I get to go along for the ride. :-)
My sister has sold her designs at a lot of different shows over the last few years but I have never participated in a show before. Of course I am not really participating in this one either but I will be sitting on a side of the table that I have not been on before.
I have always told myself that one of the big reasons I have never participated in a craft show is because I never have enough of anything to sell. While this is true, it is only part of the reason, the rest is fear of rejection. I don't want to see face to face what people think of my work. I like to share it, but the buffer of the internet is comfortable and safe for me. Perhaps someday I will brake out of this comfort zone.
There is always more work to do, isn't there? :-)
Happy Upcycling,
I also made some promo bracelets for my sister from some of the scraps.