What is Zen Crafting?

Last night I spent a lot of time reading about Buddhism and thinking about why I chose the name "Zen Crafting" for my blog. I'm not Buddhist, nor, I admit, do I have a deep understanding of Zen Buddhism as a religion or as a spiritual practice.

Let me try to articulate why I sort of blindly chose Zen Crafting as my title. I had a vague notion that I wanted to give myself permission to be more instinctual and less cerebral or formulaic as I create. Part of this involves being very mindful of the materials that I'm working with--the texture of felted wool, the lightness of the weave of a linen fabric, the dimple that embroidery floss makes as it's stitched onto felt, the smooth flow of watercolors from a brush (I could go on and on!), etc. I also want to be spontaneous as I create--willing and curious enough to follow a design or an idea onto a path that I hadn't originally intended and to use materials that would otherwise have been overlooked or discarded.

(I hope I'm not oversimplifying Zen Buddhism by suggesting that these three elements--instinct over cerebration; mindfulness; and flow or spontaneity--are central beliefs. A Zen master should set me straight here!)

The whole notion of letting go of the noise of one's thoughts that is central to Buddhist meditation is also what I want my creative quest to be about. I want to be able to focus intently on the joy of handwork without the intrusive worrying about my lack of abilities or how perfect the finished product needs to be. After all, Buddhist monks spend days, weeks, or even months creating intricate sand mandalas, only to destroy them soon after completion. The meaning is located in the process of creating and not in the final piece of art.

This is sounding pretty deep, but my whole intention of blogging about Zen Crafting was actually to lighten up and stop worrying and just create--and not to let wonky seams, misaligned edges, knotted yarn, or dropped stitches keep me from completing a project.

Another idea from Buddhism that relates to inspiration and creativity is the idea of daily, ritualized practice. Getting to that place where joy and creativity resides isn't always easy. Jane Sassaman, an art quilter who creates impossibly alive, joyful, and exuberant quilts, has a daily ritual of looking at beautiful pictures to jump-start her daydreaming and visualization of new quilt designs. An introduction to the Inspiration Center on Sassaman's web site sums up how important this daily work is:

Those in awe of very creative people often believe their vision and creativity is innate. The reality is creativity must be worked at, nurtured, set upon, cajoled or even bamboozled! Finding the inner voice, or the muse, is more often than not a discipline or routine which places us in the right frame of mind to "receive" the muse's gifts.

With any luck, you have your own rituals that kick start your creative day,
or at the very least your own nurturing, cajoling, bamboozling craft buddy--like Maya--who pushes you where you need to go.