Winter Trends for Creative Makers: A Spiritual Renaissance (Part 2)

Consumerism is no longer just making and selling beautiful things. The artisans I see thriving in this environment have a business model infused with a deep sense of meaning and a rich story that connects with their customers on a level beyond the ordinary. In Part 1 of this series, we explored the trends: “What Brings Us Meaning” and “Tell Your Unique Story.”

This post is a continuation of my conversation with Tammy Honaman, an industry educator in the handcraft jewelry industry. Tammy reached out to ask about trends I was seeing within the jewelry industry. This series will give you a glimpse into who I am as an artist and the thought process behind creating a product line that inspires creativity.

Thank you for your dedication to your creative inner world.

Becky

Tammy: During my career in publishing, we had to be really careful about the topic of religion. What I hear you talking about is spirituality. Why do you think the trend has changed from religion to spirituality?

Becky: I can only speak from my own experience of being raised in a religious family and culture. All of my ancestral lineage was Catholic. My parents entered Catholic schools at the ages of five and graduated from Catholic colleges at the ages of twenty-one. That is a lot of religious conditioning passed down from generation to generation without question.

By the time I was born in the mid-sixties, the Catholic school in my town had closed so I was sent to a public school. I had Catholic education classes through the church one day of the week. Although I had received all of the sacraments by the time I came of age, my understanding of Catholicism was very limited.

After graduation from high school, I lived a year as an exchange student in Italy. It was one of the loneliest years of my life. I have a vivid memory of standing in front of the bathroom mirror in my host family’s Italian villa, just staring at myself in the eyes. It was the first time that I really had the thought, “Who am I?” I kept touching my face and looking at my reflection in the mirror and asking over and over, “Who is inside of this body?” This, for me, was a profound spiritual experience. A had a great desire to know myself, the world around me, and to understand how I was connected to it.

I understood the concept of God, but my early experience of religion was void of a sense of connection to a higher source within me. I didn’t understand how all of the rituals had anything to do with me or my life. It wasn’t until I really started to explore who I was as a person, and as an artist, that my own direction of spirituality began to develop.

When I think of Spiritual Renaissance, I imagine all of us who threw out the baby with the bath water when we left the religions of our youth. I imagine asking profound questions to help us remember who we truly are, and what brings our lives meaning. How are we connected to this vast world around us, and what are our roles in it?

Tammy: Can you explain more about the Divine Feminine and Masculine and how that affects us in our creative lives?

Becky: As the eighth of nine children, I spent a lot of my childhood observing what was going on around me. I learned all of the ways my siblings provoked my parents and avoided those tactics. I earned the title of “the good child.” My ego formed the belief that I had to be good to earn my family’s love and to stay safe in such a chaotic environment.

All of us have some form of childhood messaging stored within our psyches that helps us to feel safe. These patterns play out within our life’s experiences and relationships until we become conscious of understanding and changing our reactions and behaviors. Psychologist Carl Jung spent his career exploring patterns of behavior in his patients and helping them see the archetypal patterns that all humans have.

It was through Jung’s study of the feminine and masculine energies being within each of us, that I was able to start examining where, within myself, I was out of balance as a daughter, friend, wife, mother and boss. In some relationships I was showing up with unhealthy feminine or masculine ways.

The healthy feminine is self-nurturing, holds a strong center for their inner life, is highly capable of empathy and emotions. The healthy masculine is rational and logical, can stay non-attached and is a good problem solver.

As I explored the history of ancient Greece and Egypt, early Christianity, and the Roman Empire coming into power, I kept asking myself, when did we lose sight of the divine feminine and masculine within each of us? We had matriarchal systems in ancient cultures, but they were replaced by patriarchal systems. Why?

A quote often attributed to Mark Twain; “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme,” provided me with a starting point. It is time for us to see the importance of having a balance of feminine and masculine energies within ourselves.

Artists can show the world examples of balanced feminine and masculine strengths by highlighting how we prioritize our lives, families, the running of our creative businesses, and lifestyles. We bring balance by just being who we were born to be, creatives in harmony with the natural flow and rhythm of the beautiful planet that we live on.

All of this leads to a continuation of winter trends that I’m seeing for creative makers within our industry. The overarching umbrella is this movement of spiritual renaissance.

The first trend we discussed, “What Brings Us Meaning,” was followed by “Tell Your Unique Story.”

This leads me to the third trend in our series: “Who Are We?”

3. Who Are We?

Earlier this year, my seventeen-year-old daughter, Isabella, asked me if she could come out to the warehouse to make a necklace for herself. I’m always trying to get my daughters to wear jewelry, so I was glad to set up a time for us to create together. When I asked Isabella, “What are you called to adorn yourself with?” I found her response shocking. “I want a crucifix,” she replied.

My first reaction, which I kept to myself, was an immediate, instinctual reaction to protect my daughter from being labeled for wearing a symbol of religion, an experience I have witnessed, often in negative ways, since my youth.

I didn’t want to project my own inner dialogue onto Isabella; my struggles were my own. So I asked, “What is inspiring you to wear a crucifix?” Isabella calmly explained, “My ancestors were Italian. I’ve traveled in Italy, and I want to feel a sense of connection with my lineage. I think the crucifix represents that for me.”

Isabella was choosing love for her ancestors over fear of the potential hatred she could experience. A crucifix helps her express the unique story of who she is.

Cultural and spiritual heritage tells a unique story. Images, symbols, fabric can create talismans to remind us of who we are and where we have come from. These talismans enrich our lives by connecting us to our past while bringing meaning to our present lives.

After losing her partner of nearly eighteen years to cancer in 2018, Cecilia Leibovitz found solace through a new chapter in her work… “As we went through Michael’s clothing, amazingly, my children and I felt almost as if he was there with us. I instantly wanted to help others experiencing loss to be able to carry comfort like this along with them, through my fabric jewelry.”

Cecilia creates fabric memory necklaces that honors important events, milestones and people – they are sweet reminders and provide the wearers of her creations comfort. Whether it be a wedding keepsake necklace, a baby memory necklace or a memorial necklace, Ceci is creating wearable art with meaning.

Janet with Sistas with Bad Habits brings humor into her business while making deep and meaningful jewelry for her customers.

“For me, a creative life starts with a creative mind. I wish that I could say every piece designed was perfect on the first try. Honestly, my greatest ideas wake me up in the middle of the night. Sometimes a design sits on my table for days waiting for that spark to light. The greatest gift of happiness comes in the form of a personal compliment or a comment on social media regarding a design. It honestly warms my heart and makes all those long days so worth it.”

How can you bring meaning to your own life and others? How can you tell your unique story that expresses who we are as humans? How can we all come together in unity to express love instead of of hatred? That is the work of the artists. The shamans of our cultural myth.

Please share with me your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Becky

Further Reading:

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