Years ago, before my fiber art obsession, when I was a graphic designer, I loved to take art classes. I took so many community art classes. Batik, Metalsmithing, Raku, Lampwork. I loved to dive into learning ways to create. Despite creating all day for commercial purposes…no…probably because I created all day for someone else…I would carve out precious time to learn new methods of making stuff. Most of the mediums were not something I found pursuing too far beyond the classes. But I don’t think I ever hated any of the techniques I learned in any of those classes. Often It was simply I did not have the space or resources to pursue the mediums outside of class. Like ceramic required dropping a couple hundred a month for share in a studio, or a few thousand on major equipment. And finding homes with studio space at that time was just not a priority.
I would also go to art openings. I had such admiration for those artists. I wished that I, too, was in that place of selling my art (well…outside of logos, ads and brochures) After bemoaning my longing to be like them to a dear friend, she pointed out that my creative ADD was not doing me any favors. And she was right… I was not diving deeper into a body of work. I needed to pick one. At that time, I had just learned how to knit. That was the beginning of becoming a fiber artist. All because I was able and ready to dive deeper into growing that medium. And it is true, the way to really grow a body of work and a style is to make a whole lot of the same thing each time changing what isn’t working, adding new ideas in slow baby steps.
But sometimes that linear focus can lead to some serious creative blocks. There have been times when I feel I have reached a dead end in the direction of my work. It happens to all artists at some point. I believe this is where crafting ADD is a good thing.
Here’s the thing, your creative voice is a constant. You subconscious sometimes needs a different medium to get the flow going again. And I do not mean you need to go who hog and decide you are now a metalsmith or sculptor. It can be as simple as art journaling (my personal fave) or maybe adding some clay headers to your weaving. Or maybe it is taking you favorite sweater and creating an abstract painting of it. What this does is jog you brain in a new direction. You do not need to make a masterpiece. You just need to create a few new neuro pathways.
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Fiber artist Stacey Budge-Kamison AKA UrbanGypZ lives and works in Cary NC. She can also be found knitting in public, hammering out her latest e-course at local cafés and spinning yarns in her booth at her favorite arts festivals. A designer at heart, Stacey has decided that her mission is to help fellow knitters, crocheters, weavers and felters embrace their own style and creativity by exploring fiber art as it is a part of their everyday life and helping them embrace the title of artist no matter where they are in their journey. 
Sometimes I think creative ADD is more of a thing with women. And it’s because of how we’re wired. Men are those focused hunters-gatherers, farmers, and those focused on a career. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that women can’t, shouldn’t or don’t do these things. But for the most part they’re also doing dinner, kids, shopping, etc. We’ve always been multi taskers. And I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions on the male side. I’ve struggled with the craft ADD for a really long time. I get bored. Most of my really creative friends get bored. Add my growing osteo-arthritis to the mix and I guess it’s a good thing I can change things up. But it plays hell with a person’s body of work. Just sayin’.
I enjoy changing things up a bit and find that one new craft an also be used with the one I may be a bit bored with so I end up stretching the one into the other. For me, it works and I learn something new. I am so glad I have such a variety of crafts to love and enjoy. I agree, as women, we multitask more than men so maybe our minds automatically are always stretching to see what else we can learn. It works for me.
My brain was definitely a butterfly, flitting from one craft to the next, settling briefly and moving on. Until I discovered fibre, spinning and weaving, that is. Now I have plenty to keep my mind occupied and not enough years left to do all of it! Ultimately, for me, it is all about colour and I now recognise that this is what drives my passion for fibre and textile crafts. From my early childhood I collected hanks of embroidery floss, buttons and the like and just looked at them, loving the colours. Now my love of colour has led me to textures and other things follow – felting, dyeing, growing dye plants. etc.. There is so much to keep my mind alive and happy. That’s not to say that I don’t regularly wander off and explore other craft avenues, of course. But my heart always return to fibres, yarns and the textiles which can be created from them. And I am so thankful for the joy they bring to me (and for the inspirational crafting friends I’ve made along the way)
I have realized that my creative ADD finds its way into my main fiberart. Jewelry making, sewing, pottery, leather work, they all have techniques that incorporate well into a particular piece, and I have that knowledge available when it’s needed.