to be a work of art

new interests and potential hobbies

July 27, 2025

i spent the past week as a teaching assistant (rough commutes, but at least i've been carpooling with a fellow teaching artist with whom i have great conversations) for a fashion design class for middle to high school students. i am not someone who cares deeply about my outer looks, so long as i look decent to some extent, and whatever i wear serves me comfortably for the day. but it didn't occur to me that what i wear could potentially make me into a piece of art. clothing as decoration rather than just necessity.

yesterday i went to the mall with my friend and i bought a really cute white/blue porcelain patterned dress that i've fallen deeply in love with. i rarely buy clothes for myself, though i note that whenever i do, i tend to cherish those clothes more than the ones my mom would get for me from Costco.

because i'm a crafter, these events got me thinking: what if i handmade my own clothing? the prospect sounds so appealing to me, and i do want to try it out, but sewing has never been a strong suit of mine. i admit that my guilty pleasure is showing off my miniatures and relishing in others gasping and asking, "you made that?" (and therefore my status as an 'i-can-make-anything' type of artist would be even more apparent if i DIY'ed my own clothes). i can do basically any other craft-- clay, drawing, collage, resin, ceramics, miniature arts, stamp carving, printmaking, etc. -- but not needlework and textiles (i.e. sewing, crocheting, and weaving).

i spent today clearing out my home studio and trying to make it into a neat but crafty makerspace (possibly a community space as well). also, i chased down an ice cream truck that drove in front of my house (after i watched a coyote poop on my neighbor's front lawn) and bought an ice cream sandwich.

--- Potential New Hobbies I Want To Try:

• sewing my own clothes/dresses! i saw a bunch of people on youtube sewing "birthday dresses" which sounds so fashionable to me. i discovered that a "creative reuse center" (basically a secondhand craft store of sorts) was nearby and i'd love to check it out when i get back from my trip.
• and by extension, sustainable art
• my professor jokingly suggested that everyone should have a youtube channel to make some extra money and not work. as someone who found so many of my art passions through youtube, might be an idea!
• field recording(???!!!) it's easy and i like soundscapes...
• already been trying this, but i took some ceramics classes and i want to do more of it!
• editing music videos??
• wondering how i could support indie bookstores...
• making video art
• also been doing this: zine-making and distribution

there's a lot! i want to feel like i'm actively sculpting the world around me with my art and endeavors. sometimes the world is just how it is and i wish it weren't that way, and instead of becoming a politician or executive or any other individual of ostensible power, i am just the impressionable girl i am. everyone influences me a little too much. love immerses and hurts me a bit longer than expected. a single comment or scathing remark will have me hunkered over on my work for days. i'm highly highly sensitive and unfortunately or fortunately, that's just the way i am. i hope you'd accept that at the very least.