Woodcarving: moving hands, clearing minds, and crispy sounds
Are you looking for a new hobby or want to take a breather while still being productive? Woodcarving may be just the one for you!
You know that feeling when everything around you suddenly feels overwhelming? The four walls of your environment have started to make you uneasy, even suffocated, like all the stress from the past days finally surfaced. Then, it creates this lingering feeling of wanting to do more due to the pressure. But, your mind goes blank and you don’t really feel productive. Mentally spent and burnt out, you now start looking for something to de-stress and recollect.
Woodcarving: moving hands, clearing minds, and crispy sounds
An artform
Woodcarving, like other art forms, allows us to create our own little bubbles as we delve into the craft. It makes our hands busy with the wood and chisel, careful and focused. Meanwhile, it allows us to clear our minds and breathe. We are free to unleash that inner creativity with the craft. Whittling also makes nice crispy sounds, a perfect addition to some relaxing ASMR.
Productive but therapeutic
Woodcarving endeavors are also considered a therapeutic hobby. In Graeme Muir Hamilton’s study, she said that the activity is relaxing and joyful. It also promotes positive emotionality. Aside from that, it also feels rewarding and productive since every project results in an end product. This, of course, includes carving which gives our minds the satisfaction of finishing something.
It can be frustrating when you can’t carve the image you want, especially the first time. But, everyone is always a beginner at some point, right? When you realize that the process matters more than the final product, the entire process becomes a form of healing.
Wood as a natural healer
Studies show that wood, as a natural element, helps reduce stress and anxiety. It even lowers blood pressure and heart rates as we feel the comfort of being close to nature with it. Being close to or surrounded by wood feeds our innate biophilic characteristics.
Trying woodcarving can be the break you have been seeking from the demanding urban life without having to go the extra mile. Reconnecting with nature while recollecting yourself, plus having a carving to take home is a good deal!
There are a lot of free resources online that you can start with. Whether they are YouTube tutorials or workshops, who knows? Maybe a friend knows? Or the woodcarver working on doors and pieces of furniture down the alley would be more than willing to cater to you on a one-to-one woodcarving session.
It may sound extravagant but it is actually not. Yes, it does require a lot of practice if you want to level up your craftsmanship skills, but the wood wouldn’t be mad at you if you didn’t make a perfect curve or cut, right? So, would it be a no or a go?
