Have you heard of the Campaign for Creativity?
It’s a movement that is asking the UK government to put more focus on creative talents and crafts in schools.
And it’s one that I am very much behind.
Are Kids Crafts Important?
When I was at school we had a few extra textile classes each year, and I loved them.
Experimenting with hand sewing, dying, machine sewing. It was fun, but it was also useful.
I remember very fondly making a cushion cover with a fish picture on it, which I was ridiculously proud of.
My family has some incredibly talented artists in it, and despite my best efforts I will never be as skilled as them in those areas.
Sketching, painting, charcoals – they are all wonderful mediums covered in standard art classes. But not ones which I felt anything but a bit of a failure when using.
We didn’t have a lot of extra craft based lessons, but those I did work with, showed me that there were ways of being creative without needing to have natural skills with a pencil.
My confidence needed that.
Less Crafts In Schools?
It makes me feel very sad to think that these classes are apparently even less represented these days.
Confidence is important at any age, but especially to kids who are just working out who they are and what strengths they have.
As a teenager I desperately wanted to express myself and be ‘heard’.
My main medium was (really rather questionable) poetry. Crafting was a much more productive way of expressing myself. One that made me feel like I had achieved and learned something important almost every time.
Yes, I think these skills are important to kids for practical reasons. But for me, the emotional reasons to craft are at the top of the chart.
Crafts help you to cope with stress. To learn and expand as a person.
They are also a way for kids who are struggling socially or academically to shine.
A Wall Of Names
At The Knitting and Stitching Show in London, they found a lovely way to publicise the campaign. With a wall of sewn names.
Sitting down at that table and picking up a needle was surprisingly nerve-wracking for me.
I am utterly at ease with a hook, or sewing yarn. But embroidery is something I haven’t done much of since my teens, when I had a brief but enthusiastic affair with cross stitching.
But the message was important, and so was the point that we were making by giving it in that way.
So I gave it a go, and I hope you agree that my results weren’t totally shameful to the craft!
How You Can Help
If you live in the UK, you can get involved with the campaign by signing the petition here.
This is going to the Secretary for State Education. The more signatures it gets, the better!
If you think crafts are important, then why not get behind it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the campaign, so please do share them in the comments box below.
