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CLUSTER CRAFTS FAIR

We live in a time where the 24/7 demands of the digital world and modern life have driven us to an overwhelmingly fast pace. Stress, fatigue and depression have become today’s plague and the race to find an antidote seems never-ending. As a result, many turned to craft-making as an effective way to practice mindfulness.

It is often described that negative thought patterns halt while engaged in craft-making and issues that once felt all-consuming are put into perspective. At some point in our life, we all tried to find an escape through impulse buying or excessive eating. However, the satisfaction and relief seems to last just for a brief moment, followed by feelings of guilt. In contrast, the positive feelings generated from craft-making linger on. According to research published in 2018 by the MARCH mental health network of the University College London, cultural activities such as museum visits, the engagement with visual arts and the creation of physical work “lower inflammation and stress hormones such as cortisol…and release dopamine, which encourages cognitive flexibility.”

Lastly, arts-based courses can boost the participation of marginalised youths in the community, by building a sense of purpose for the future and cultivating a can-do attitude. Charities such as the Creative Youth Network, based in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, offer Craft and Textiles courses to young people with the opportunity of gaining a Level 1 Award in the arts. According to the Charity, “this enables young people to overcome systemic and individual barriers, and it increases their confidence, communication and team work skills.”

One of the biggest strengths of craft-making is that the individual can decide whether the activity will be solitary or collective. Hence, crafts can offer a distraction during this difficult period of the corona virus pandemic. Engaging in craft-making is one of the few remaining activities that cannot be impacted by social distancing measures exactly due its attribute of being both a group activity and a private pre-occupation. Our mental health needs tending more than ever, and so knitting, welding, woodworking and jewellery making can be a good way to relieve anxiety and stress. Αs perthe ancient Greek phrase, “a healthy mind is a healthy body”.

Since the very beginning of occupational therapy in the 19 th century, mental health institutions have been prescribing craft courses as part of their patients’ treatment. Studies show that craft practices especially help with the recovery of anorexia nervosa patients. Introducing knitting into their lives leads to a self-reported reduction of persisting thoughts related to eating. The sense of control that the patients feel over their own bodies is strongly correlated with their lower levels of anxiety. The study narratives reveal that this sense of control arises from handling the materials and from performing the different knitting techniques.

Repatriation organisations during the First and Second World War encouraged craft activities, such as basket weaving, to relieve PTSD and physical ailments of returning veterans. The engagement in craft practices as a method of diversional therapy and re-introduction into the workplace is still popular within groups such as Combat Stress, the United Kingdom’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health.