nature or nurture

I made a few "mom" cards earlier this year and, while I didn't make them for my Mom, I did make them with her in mind.  Today I pulled one out to give her for her birthday.   My Mom has been crafting one thing another her whole life...probably working on her latest quilt as I'm writing this.  I remember her making lots of our clothes (especially dresses) when we were all little.   She paints, crochets....and quilts like an addict...really beautiful quilts with pretty color combinations and precise handiwork. 

So, it makes me wonder...can you have "crafty" genes?  Or do you just become crafty from a life long exposure to daily creative activity?  My daughter is always making something for me and it always has a "mom" on it somewhere...just like what I made.  What do you think...nature or nurture...or some combination?

Comments

[June]

I suspect it's a bit of both--we are given the freedom to craft as part of nurturing but we also have our own innate sense of creativity from our imaginations. It makes me sad when people say, "I'm not crafty." That's not true, everyone is crafty and I think people who say they aren't are afraid to try new things or that they might fail. I don't think there is anything such thing as failing in creating something.

[jen]

It's def both but having creative parents doesn't hurt! Every time one of my parents compliments me I just say "Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!" :-)
I'm so jealous that you had an appropriate card all made and ready to go! Wish I'd make the time to whip up some of those!

[Sarah]

I think kids are pretty interested in doing whatever it is they see mom and dad doing.

Since having Jack, my feelings on the nature/nurture thing have changed pretty drastically. I am surprised at how much of who he is seems genetically programmed. (And in fact, that was really hard for me in some aspects.)

[Robin~Thrifty Miss Priss]

I think you are more likely to enjoy crafting/or the arts in general if you were exposed to it. That is a bonus. If you are not exposed to it, I feel that you are less likely to explore and create! Pretty Card!

[sarah]

Interesting question! I think maybe it comes down to individual characters, my sister and I had the same up-bringing but she's never really got into crafting. She was always up a tree or playing football while I knitted and patchworked!

[oakwindfarm]

I'm not sure if it is in the genes, but I do think it rubs off on the kids.
Your Mom card is precious!

[Miss Paula]

I am more crafty and my sis is more on the decorating side. So like Sarah said above it must be the individual characters. I am simple in decor my sis extravagant.

Oh and Jane, I love my clipboard!!! It is so cute.
I haven't seen these small clipboards before.

[Knittypants]

I think it must be a bit of both. My mom was really crafty when I was very young, but as I grew older she crafted less and less.

I know that it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do craftwise, I always felt kind of out of my element until I discovered knitting. Like I wanted to be making something but didn't really know how to go about it.

I will be making sure that my kids all have plenty of crafting time and tools. I think it's really important to nurture their creative side.

Hmmm...this got a bit long and off topic, sorry, my thoughts ran away with me. It's a great question.

[melissa @ the inspired room]

I definitely think giving your kids exposure to art and good taste will shape them in that direction. And that is a very good thing to give to your kids!

I don't do that so much with crafting, although we do that too. Mostly I love to teach my kids about good design so they recognize it when they see it. I don't let them live with tacky bedrooms! And they have developed an artistic appreciation by being exposed to beautiful things.

And I of course learned that from the master of good taste, my mom!

[Christina Mano]

hum...that is a really good question. Personally I think it relates to one's character/personality. I am always fiddling with something...anything while my mother HATES crafting. I am the third child in my family and for fifteen years, I was the last (until my little sister came along). My siblings never cared for playing with me so I therefore started playing on my own with whatever I could find. I think my creativity might stem from that experience; how to keep from becoming "bored". On the other hand, my older sister told me I have always been stingy (at least when growing up) because I always used to give homemade crafted presents. I remember one year -when I was five- giving a hollowed egg with yarn stuck to it as "hair" and a face painted on it to my older brother...well I think that's creativity, really;) Or perhaps if craftiness is genetic; it skips a generation? My grand-father was a really accomplished crafter: furniture, embroidery, sewing, building, you name it he could do it! My mom has told me though that his mother (my great-grand-mother) always wished she had gotten a daughter so therefore taught him domestic crafts:) But that would point towards an environmental factor, like with me, I guess.
Oh well, I digress. Sorry for the long rambling post, it's just an interesting subject and it is too late at night. If you're wondering what I do; I am a newly educated architect.

All the best,
Christina