Settle in for a relaxing crafternoon

Settle in for a relaxing crafternoon this Friday in the Library Atrium.  Explore different materials and methods of creating your very own positive affirmation card to take away, give to someone you care about or share with the world.  

Creating something useful and beautiful can be restorative, bridging the gap between organisation and creativity where neuroscience has now proven inspiration thrives (New Scientist, September 2025), providing opportunities to experience both freedom and control in the world, self-direction and self-expression. There is some evidence that crafting with others can help make you feel more confident, better connected, relaxed, and happier.

There is folk wisdom as well as science behind crafting.  People have been using crafts to unwind and relax since antiquity.  Crafting combines mindfulness and tactile enjoyment of handling materials with truly having control over the outcomes of your labour: no-one can tell you what your affirmation card or embroidery or papier mache sculpture should look like.  Over a hundred years ago, the world famous designer William Morris argued over that engaging in crafts allows you to create yourself at the same time you choose how to fashion something useful and beautiful to be enjoyed.