When it comes to the ways in which you can spend your free time, hobbies are frequently at the top of the list, but finding a pastime activity that feels fulfilling and which you don’t get bored of after a couple of weeks can be more challenging than you imagine. After all, it is no secret that attention spans are becoming shorter, so becoming committed to an activity for the long term can be a challenge. The importance of hobbies, however, shouldn’t be underestimated. If you are perseverant, you can become proficient at the activity you choose, which will provide you with a sense of confidence in your own abilities and skills that cannot be obtained any other way.
Your social life will be improved as well since you’ll most likely want to share insights and tips with people who have the same passions as you. When the hobby you choose has to do with the arts, you also improve your creativity, patience, and cognitive abilities. Art can actually have therapeutic effects on the human psyche, so if you’ve been dealing with difficulties in your personal life, creating something tangible might help you reduce overthinking and alleviate your distress to a certain degree. And while there’s no denying the beauty of sketching and painting, here are some of the lesser-known creative hobbies you can try if you’d like something a little different.
Sculpture
If you’re looking for something exquisite and unique that can add character to your interior decor, you should research sculptures for sale and have a look at the options. Some of them are geometric and abstract, while others are figurative and even realistic. The materials used can include wool, steel, silver, wire, and ceramic, and the subjects range from nature to portraits. But is there a way to do your own sculptures at home? The short answer is yes. There are actually many everyday objects that you can use to try your hand at sculpture, such as wax, wool, aluminum foil, and branches.
There’s also the option to make salt dough, a modeling material made with water, flour, and salt that can be dried in both microwave and conventional ovens. After developing your skills, you can take things a step further and work with stoneware, terra cotta, earthenware, and even porcelain. Setting up your own home studio can be very expensive, but local community colleges and workshops are readily available that you can join with no hassle.
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a visual art that is related to handwriting, but its execution is focused on drawing letters and symbols in an artful manner, a practice known as “lettering.” Each individual element is important for the overall design and composition, which is why calligraphy is typically a slow and deliberate process that requires your full attention. There are several tools and instruments you can use, such as dip pens, ink brushes, suede pens, bamboo pens, markers, and even quills. As for the paper you can get, you can definitely use a regular notebook in the beginning, but if you’d like something more professional so you can display your work at home, cotton paper is the best bet, as it is known for its permanence, purity, and durability.
Fiber art
Fiber art is a craft that uses either natural or synthetic fibers to create either practical or decorative items. In this sense, it can be integrated into both fine and applied arts creations. Knitting, crocheting, weaving, and embroidery are all ways to create your own textile items. Extra needlework can be incorporated if you want your pieces to be more decorative, a task that will improve your fine motor skills and attention span but which might also require you to become familiar with some other crafts like tatting, which is worked with a shuttle. The simplest textile art you can try if you’re a beginner is felting, in which fabrics are matted together with the help of moisture and heat.
There are many fiber artists out there from whom you can draw inspiration, such as Tracey Emin, Elizabeth Zimmermann, Billie Zangewa, Eve Peri, and Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada. The environment is incredibly vast and includes a wide range of techniques so that you can learn how to tailor your own clothing, hook rugs, quilt blankets, and even ply and spin fibers to make yarn.
Candle making
Nothing improves the atmosphere of your home as much as lighting a candle. It’s relaxing both physically and emotionally, and from the calming illumination to the crackle of the wick, the experience reduces your stress after a long day. If you’re a connoisseur, you’ve most likely already taken a deep dive into the world of luxury candles and know that there are many things that make up a good candle, including the fragrance, throw, and wick. So why not start making your own candles and create the fragrances you want? There’s an endless number of perfumes you can experiment with, but remember that your first tries may not turn out great. You’ll have to be perseverant.
Soy wax is a beginner-friendly wax with a long-lasting clean burn. Start with tiny tealights in the beginning, as they’re not only inexpensive and simple to experiment with but can also serve a practical purpose as warmers for tea or fondue. You must also have a scale in order to measure your wax but always measure the fragrance oil by weight, not by volume. A thermometer is a must because you need the wax to be hot enough so that the fragrance oil binds to it but not so hot that the oil will get burned off.
When looking for a hobby, trying something creative will get you in tune with your artistic side and allow you to create something tangible that will increase your confidence in your own skills. Apart from the activities mentioned above, there’s also graphic design, photography, acrylic nail art, cake decorating, film editing, woodwork, writing, resin pouring, paper-making, and aquascaping. A little trial and error might be needed to find the thing that appeals to you the most, but it’s worth the effort for all the joy it will bring you.
