Yorkton This Week | www.YorktonThisWeek.com | Wednesday, January 26, 2022
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SENIORS Our Monthly Feature
...For Seniors and about Seniors
Crafting important outlet for seniors
Submitted Photos
Snowman
Wool painting
Submitted by Carol Bauman As I entered my golden years, I realized that they were more tarnished than golden. I am not alone. Many of us have health conditions that will not allow for long trips or even short excursions. If, like me, you have to change your expectations caused by declining health and mobility, depression can set into your life. When I finally decided that I would fight to overcome and that I would find activities that I still could accomplish, it was a new beginning. In the past, I had crocheted and when I picked up that crochet hook again, it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Creating an item that is functional, or a piece of art, lifted me up. Gifting these items and also selling some was rewarding. Just this morning I was listening along with my husband to his sports talk show where the host
explained how dopamine (a chemical in our bodies that is a natural antidepressant) is released when one plays sports. The exact same thing happens when we do a craft (or any activity) that brings us joy. Creating and engaging releases the dopamine into our system and we feel better about ourselves. Unfortunately, for many, our abilities change. Because of the arthritis in my wrist, I eventually could no longer tolerate the movement necessary for crochet-
ing. How I loved doing amigurumi which is creating stuffies like characters from tv or movies. I had boxes of scarves and toques. These too are now a part of my past. It happened in January, the hardest time of the year for many, and I was devastated and depressed. What was I contributing to life, to society? In April of that year my sister-inlaw stayed with us for 2 months while she took a course on different forms of art and creativity. The course explored
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the therapy in creating, and how she, as a pastor, could facilitate conversation with the seniors at her church while they explored activities. One day she showed me a ‘painting’ that was done with wool. It was a calm beach scene that had been tacked down with a needle! Let me tell you, my interest was piqued. I had never heard of Needle Felting before and by the time I had finished googling, I knew I
needed a new challenge. I ordered inexpensive wool with the intention of experimenting with wool. I had already watched videos on youtube and had a good idea of what had to be done. My first piece was a small mouse and I had a hoot frightening my sister-in-law. Wool fibre is like magic! Unspun wool fibre is the staple of felting. Each strand has little barbs on it that cannot be seen by the naked eye, yet when you
mix them together, they entangle with each other. But, when you use a very sharp needle with barbs, they really intertwine, and using this needle, you ‘sculpt’ the wool into your chosen subject. I, for example, love to make snowmen. I was so prolific in what I generated that I had to figure out what to do with them all since I wasn’t comfortable selling them. Many went for gifts to my friends. After Continued on page A10
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