ON BEING PAID

I am asked sometimes, if I do commissions. I guess I could. I sure spend enough money and time on my handicraft, and do give a lot of it away. But no. Being paid would put too much pressure on it. Make it too serious. What I enjoy is experimenting with something new, being allowed to fail and sometimes ending up with things that look completely wonky. I wouldn’t feel OK with that, if I had charged for it. While on the other hand, repeating a piece to perfect a pattern doesn’t interest me. I’ll never be able to make money from my crafting. And honestly, I don’t want to. In a world where everything is about money, spending hours on something and then giving it away for free feels like a tiny little protest against a system I don’t believe in.

(But, of course, I can do that, because I get paid to do something else. I’m in no way implying that artists and other producers shouldn’t get paid for what they do. That’s different. What I’m talking about is play for its own sake, which is something you can do when your other needs are met.)

So, in late 2022: Instead of perfecting, I taught myself to weave bands using a heddle. (I had a lot of time to sit still in November and December, while recuperating from that appendix removal.) From that inertia: And a new world of possibilities opening up.