I recently read Christopher McDougall’s book Natural Born Heroes.
There is a passage in which Christopher recounts a conversation he had with some Traceurs. They explained to him that as a practitioner of parkour [in my mind, one does not “take up” parkour, but rather “puts down” the innate human drive for physical exploration], you begin to see your environment as movement possibilities instead of a collection of physical objects. This sparked a realization of a parallel concept elsewhere in my life. I noticed that when I look at (well-designed & hand-crafted) jewellery, my enjoyment and appreciation is heightened by my analysis of HOW those things were constructed. They are not inert aesthetic objects, but the result of a process of creation. My mind analyzes the construction of the pieces, as much as it does their form and colour.
I love both creative pursuits:
Parkour, for using my whole body (gross motor) and seeing the opportunities in an environment, and for creation something that last for mere seconds, and
Jewellery-making, for using my hands (fine motor) and seeing the opportunities in my tools and materials, and for creating something that may last for ages.
Check out my Flickr portfolio: http://www.findmeriveting.ca
I don’t really have a bigger point to make here. I just found this realization interesting and am glad to have both of these creative outlets.