March is National Craft Month! I love crafting in many forms and have led craft workshops at the library system where I work. Apart from reading, crafting is one of the few things that I can get completely lost in. I think for me it started in middle school. I had a bit of a rough time in eighth grade (a situation partly of my own creation), but always felt grounded by our arts and crafts class, where we explored several different art forms without being judged on the “quality†of our finished products. In high school, I took a class in drawing and painting, sure at first that I would just eke by with a barely passing grade. Instead, I ended up very pleasantly surprised at the sketches that I was able to make as the result of patient instruction and a little concentration. As an adult I’ve taken jewelry-making and other craft classes, and have realized that crafting for me is almost a form of meditation, and I need to make more time for it in my life. So to inspire myself as much as you, our Hub readers, I’ve put together a list of YA crafting guides and YA novels whose main characters craft in some form.
Continue reading Crafting and Creative Pursuits in YA Nonfiction and Fiction