My mother suffered a brain aneurysm about 13 years ago and was in the hospital and rehab for several long months. It was a horrible time full of stress, worry, and many many tears. One day I was at my parents house and I saw this statue that my mother had made in a sculpting class when they lived in Mexico. I had always loved it but this time I felt so drawn to it knowing my mother had shaped it with her bare hands and had put so much of herself into it; I scooped up the statue and took it home with me. It brought me more solace than anything else during that time. It made me feel closer to her while she was still in the hospital: I could touch that statue and through her work be holding her hand.
Like most people in the crafting community, I grew up doing all variety of crafts. It's always been a fun thing and so much a part of my life that I really don't notice it, like cereal for breakfast or making the bed, just something you do. But, after that experience with my mother, and at the time being a new mother myself, the idea of making something by hand took on a whole new significance. Handmade items are special. They should be cherished and valued more than anything else. They are created not just with yarn, ink, beads, or thread but with love, thought, devotion and passion. Handmade items are a tangible connection to the maker and help tie us together when life sends us scattered beyond reach.
My mother is recovered now although she was left with some impaired vision and arm weakness. The statue is no less valuable to me - it's more. Now I know the power that a handmade item can hold.
