Has anyone had this experience? You are at work, or the gym, somewhere where you know the people, and are friends with them, but not someone you hang out with all the time. I guess that it is more that they are acquaintances.
Some how the subject comes up, “What are your hobbies?” What do you do in your spare time? Usually sometime after where do you work. I don’t know about you but I cringe at these kinds of questions. No matter how I phrase my hobby I usually get very strange looks and a disappointing “Oh that’s nice…” I guess grown people are not supposed to sculpt dolls. Or play with them or I guess even talk about dolls. I try to play it off sometimes by saying simple that I just sculpt, but the problem with that is that it leads to the next question. “What do you sculpt?” to which I have to answer “Dolls” and that almost always gets a very quizzical look and the response “Oh”.
It seems to me and maybe its because most of what I read and look up on the internet is all about dolls. But there seems to be plenty of people in this world that love dolls just like me, so it begs to wonder, why I keep getting all the funny expressions when people find out my hobby? I guess I should be happy that the people who love me don’t seem to mind my hobby, in fact I think my sweet husband is rather proud of me most of the time. I have to beg him not to take people who visit the house into my doll room, or even call it a “doll room” for that matter.
But then that also brings up another issue that I’m having with myself. I can’t seem to figure out what I can call the space in my house where I sculpt my dolls. I usually call it the doll room, and that is OK for the most part. There is a part of me that wants to call it my studio. It sounds so much more professional then “doll room”. But in my mind I think I can’t call it a studio unless I was doing this as a profession and not a hobby. Doll room = Hobby, Studio = Professional. Maybe sometime soon, it will be a studio.
5 comments:
A studio is where an artist works. This artist can do fine art or craft, but if they, like you produce art...it's a studio. Start to think of it as a studio and use it as a studio and enjoy it as a studio.
Deanna
You could call it a workshop or a crafting room, but I call my doll making room my studio most of the time.. or my office, or just my room.. it's a workshop in the sense that it is pretty dirty and messy though with all the shavings and filings. I also find it a bit hard to tell people that I make dolls for a living (not that I'm making a living from it, but it's what I do), but I don't get the reaction you seem to get.. people are always very interested and curious and go on about how unusual and cool that is. I still feel awkward about talking to non-doll people about it , though.
Lori as beautiful as you sculpt I vote for studio cause you are a true artist.
Don't pay any attention to those that don't understand the art of sculpting there are lots of us that do and we understand too well the calling of the clay and the satisfaction from completing something you really like
barb
Ha, ha,
I so feel your pain!! It always feels strange to tell folks I make dolls, but try telling them you make TEDDY BEARS!!! I fequently hear, "You mean like the Build A Bear Workshop?"
When people ask, I usually say I am an artist. I call my workroom my studio.
Like Twigling, people seem to think that my doll sculpting and teddy bear creating is cool once I explain it, but it definitley feels awkward. I think it is because we have to explain it. If you painted in watercolor, or made ceramic pottery, most people can relate to those things.
Workshop and craft room sprang to mind. But in the end, call it whatever you want to, it's your room.
If you want it to be a studio, call it a studio.
I've got a "Writer's Nook" in the backyard and all it is right now is a patio swing next to the shed...
If we aspire to greatness we are more likely to find it than we are if we wait for it to happen to us.
:)
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