A little bit about my obsessions, my pursuit of perfectionism and when I decided I could just do what I enjoy…
I began collecting shed loads of stuff from the many beaches and rocks I walked along and over whilst on our hols in Ireland, with the desire to make things from them. This was nothing new; I’ve routinely collected natural treasures discovered whilst mooching about the shorelines of the British Isles. Mostly driftwood- to the dismay of my family. Driftwood can be found in our kitchen, living room, front room and hall. Not to mention our campervan, called Aoife. My next obsession was sea glass. This started when visiting our daughter Charlotte at uni in Durham. Who knew that I could spend hours, head towards the sand, searching for tiny pieces of coloured glass made frosty from years of tumbling in salty waves? Searching for driftwood and sea glass inevitably leads to discovering shells and what intrigues me is how each beach seems to contain its own predominant type of shell. I can’t leave out the other thing that I love to discover on a beach, although I am in the minority- bones and in particular, skulls. I’ve inherited my dad’s fascination with animal and bird skulls, but I don’t think most other people are ready for me to start crafting with them.
If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly. That’s what my Nan always said and I find myself repeating that saying, often. It has fuelled, in part, my pursuit of perfection in everything I do. Years of struggle, counselling and psychologist appointments later and I have kind of accepted that this is neither achievable nor healthy, but it doesn’t stop me from trying my best in everything that means something to me. This flaw in my character, along with my susceptibility to obsessivism (I’m claiming that word) has been a curse and a blessing. The important thing I’ve learned from this is what brings me to my final musing…
The realisation that I should do what I enjoy and do my best at it. This year, whilst in Donegal, Ireland, I decided to do what I enjoy and turn my obsessions, pursuits for perfection and creativity into something more. I finally realised that I could pursue my dreams and that’s how ‘The Crafty Teacher’ was born.
