After years of refusing to listen to my creative muses, I finally decided that the only way to be happy was to spread happiness to others. That is my personal mission - to spread cheer and smiles to as many people as I can reach with my one of a kind creations, all of which are handmade of fleece, cotton, and occasionally more exotic fabrics like faux fur. My workshop is small but filled with creative energy. Every item in my shop is sewn with love - for the creation and the eventual adopter.
Before I became a full time creator, I worked in higher education as a fundraiser. It was a rewarding, frustrating, fulfilling, interesting career. When circumstances made it impossible for me to continue, I left my position at the college. Not certain what to do next - planning ahead within my life is not my strong suit - I decided to enroll in the college where I had worked. I entered the associate's degree program for simulation and game design. I admit this was an interesting choice since I am not a gamer and I am most definitely not a computer programmer. I was an English major! I didn't know C+ programming from vitamin C. But I learned. It was a struggle, and it was informative. I had no fundamental knowledge of gaming or programming, two obstacles which I refused to let stand in my way. (Incredibly enough, when I graduated I had the highest GPA of my program. No one was more surprised than me!)
Why study gaming at all, then? Mostly because I believe gaming can be a change for the better. I do believe there is some correlation between violent games and becoming desensitized to violence. I don't think playing violent games makes anyone violent. Rather, I think that it blurs the line between reality and virtual reality, what is acceptable in real life and what is not.
Additionally, there is an incredibly heavy male basis to gaming. Women are portrayed as little more than a set of breasts. The guys in my gaming classes thought that was the way things were supposed to be and could barely understand my objections. Bringing a female point of view to gaming is something I was wiling and able to do. As a relative outsider, I didn't care what they thought about me. I'm not a part of any gaming community so they couldn't haze me on line. And they knew better than to bully me in class. When they tried, I reminded them firmly (and somewhat maternally, I'll admit) that we were all adults and they needed to act like they remembered that.
I also believe that the right kind of games help improve cognitive ability. I am completely incapable of completing jigsaw puzzles. My ability to visualize orientations is practically nil. But I am a wizard at Tetris. While cardboard puzzles are nearly impossible for me, electronic puzzles make sense and flow together.
My ultimate goal is to create electronic games for seniors, to help with cognitive ability. We baby boomers are aging but we don't necessarily have to grown old. I'm not making games yet, but I will one day soon.
In the meantime, I am using my creativity to sew. I love to sew, to take fabric with beautiful, colorful designs, cut it apart, and make something brand new. I have started designing my own wall hangings and really enjoy that part of the creative process as well.
This creativity has led me back to my love of quilting. I learned many years ago but became intimidated by the process. Every time I tried to make a quilt, I'd hear the experts telling me that all seams had to be an exact 1/4 inch, quilting had to be close together, hand quilting was the only true way to quilt, if it wasn't perfect, there was no use doing it. I've quieted those voices. I strive for 1/4 inch seams but if they aren't perfect, my quilt will still be beautiful and will still keep me warm at night. I don't have to hand quilt to be a true quilter. Fabric, batting, and thread are the basic ingredients. Creativity, love, and effort make a quilt. So what if they aren't perfect? Who among us is?
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