“You want me to show you how I do this?” I was often asked by a wide variety of residents over the years, after I expressed an interest in their needlework or leather project. I begged off almost as often, as I had usually made an unsuccessful attempt to learn the craft on my own. I realized, when I learned about the new state-supported program to train apprentices in a wide variety of trades, that I had interviewed quite a few people of all ages, who still practiced a skill many of us considered a “lost art.” It didn’t matter that they were using any and almost every natural material they could find easily. They usually learned from a family member or someone they saw frequently out on their ranch.
They began to work with metal, leather, wool and wood crafting “something from nothing.” Initially, most of them did not have any skill at all, using only their determination to make a finished product that could be used. Some of the younger folks found themselves working, as an apprentice of sorts, to a master craftsman because they developed their own interest. There were vocational classes in many rural areas that built on these skills, as well. Some of the woodshop classes learned to build by creating pieces of furniture or by expanding their interest in construction by building a house. The importance of this “hands-on” experience cannot be over-emphasized. Later on, classes at the local community college programs included quilting, collecting edible local plants, as well as throwing clay pots and painting.
Local artisans are continuing this tradition and expanding their product’s availability online, as well as at local shops. During the pandemic, there was increase in the number of people able to share their passion for arts and crafts, as they spent so much time at home. Recently, it seems that this new way of working, from both inside and outside our homes, have changed things for the better. Along with the some of the people who have left their pre-Pandemic employment to take jobs that give them more time with their families, there has been a reawakening of everyone’s interest in other things besides work. No one could find the extra time in the day (or evening) to do anything else. Growing our economy by continuing to support those local residents who are now able to offer more of their own products is the natural next step.
“Shop local” has been the motto that most of us have tried to continue all these years. Even during the boom and bust years, there have been those among us who make it an annual goal and have been able give a needed boost to those smaller businesses in the area. The ease and convenience of online shopping has threatened this practice, yet developments like new state programs demonstrate that it can continue to be honored.
By DOLLY VISCARDI – Special to the Herald Times
