At a time when many of us feel overwhelmed by the 24/7 demands of the digital world, craft practices, alongside other activities such as colouring books for grown-ups and the up-surge of interest in cooking from scratch and productive home gardens, are being looked to as something of an antidote to the stresses and pressures of modern living.

Crafts such as knitting, crochet, weaving, ceramics, needlework and woodwork focus on repetitive actions and a skill level that can always be improved upon.

According to the famous psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi this allows us to enter a “flow” state, a perfect immersive state of balance between skill and challenge.

With what is increasingly referred to today as “mindfulness” being a much-desired quality for many people, it’s not surprising crafts are being sought out for their mental and even physical benefits. (1)

We are lost in an abyss of information and data.

Flying into space. Going to other planets.

Sending spacecraft to other solar systems.

But no matter what we do.

No matter how much we extend our reach.

We will always need to touch that shovel.

No matter how much we long for the stars.

We will need to start digging in the garden.

Look at those clean hands of the astronauts.

They would never have reached space.

If it weren’t for the dirty hands of the gardener…