Origins of a creative project

Origins

Flashback: I'm a child playing with my brother. We have a collection of Hot Wheels mom gives us for practicing piano, cello and violin. There's a fold-up farm and city, and some track. We buzz the cars around. The cat bats at a few. We're very happy.

Flash forward to mid-April of 2020. As COVID-19 shows up in Mason County and spreads, a natural cascade of reactions happens. Because we're human beings, we're compassionate. Because we're compassionate, we want our family, friends and neighbors to be safe. Because we want them to be safe, public places, schools and other gathering places have to close. Because big spaces close, people have to work and interact from home.

The world is changing. As an essential worker in the media, I want to do my part. My daughter was working at her first job at a long-term care facility, so she is an essential worker also, fighting on the front lines to protect a vulnerable population. It is a heroic challenge and I am so proud and honestly a bit afraid.

I think about all the people who are now at home. This is a dare to be great situation. What can I do? I'm just a guy who works at a small-town paper. I've been a home-school dad. Our daughter is super great, so there's that. When she was little, we scratch-built puppets, dollhouses, dollhouse furniture, figures - anything she wanted. She built buildings, and an entire scale-model classroom out of desks out of cardboard and straws. We loved it.

Now suddenly every parent is a home-school parent, whether they want to be or not. All these people at home. I imagine that many of them are bored. Not everyone has hobbies.

"What would I be doing if I was at home?" I thought.

I'd be crafting, most likely. Painting miniatures and creating buildings and terrain is a longtime hobby of mine. Not everyone has hobbies. With my free time, I can create tutorials and share this hobby that I enjoy with our readers. Even if it only runs once it will fill a need right now, I think.

Crafty Time with Dave was born. From my studio at home, I start with a how-to on making a simple cardboard house and painting it with bright colors. I take some photos of it and some other buildings I've made over time. I figure people might get inspired to try making things for themselves at home. It's not intended to be just for kids, but I certainly have in mind to include them. These would be ideal home-school projects, or just something fun for anyone to do.

Development

At first, feedback is slow, but it picks up over the weeks. Crafty Time is added as a regular feature to the expanded Activities Pages of the Shelton-Mason County Journal. Soon it is given window space to display the model buildings, cars and figures. A growing number of people stop to look and take pictures.

The day after I set everything up, a reader stops in, with a question.

"Why are you doing this?" he asks.

"I'm sharing my hobby with our readers," I reply, a bit defensively. That's an excellent question for why anybody does anything, I think to myself.

"Huh," he says.

Over the weeks, the few buildings grow from a village, to a town, to a city. I name my imaginary community Happy Tree, and it is not based on anywhere real. Among my inspirations are Fred Rogers, Norman Rockwell and Bob Ross.

I make a set of rules for myself.

• I will use my imagination to think from the point of view of readers of all ages trying to create buildings like this. Also, I will think from the point of view of Happy Tree citizens about what would makes sense for each new idea to try.

• Materials and tools used will be as accessible, nontoxic, safe and as affordable as possible. I will include as many recycled items as possible.

• It should be fun for me, and also for our readers (whether they try making it or not).

My goals for Crafty Time have been to learn skills, connect with other crafters and have fun. Along the way, I've found myself imagining stories about the people who live and work in Happy Tree. The Happy Tree Times tells some of their stories.

Reactions

Fast forward to now. My boss tells me he likes Crafty Time well enough to continue including it in our Activities Pages indefinitely. An artist recommends that I submit an entry to an out-of-state gallery for exhibit. I'm caught off-guard, so surprised and flattered that I respectfully decline. Next time maybe I will be ready.

My wife sets me up with a web domain, kind of a playground of show and tell. Because Crafty Time is taken, we go with http://www.craftytimewithdave.com. It becomes a kind of sandbox for my projects. We have always supported each other in our hobbies.

A co-worker submits Crafty Time for a statewide Washington Newspaper Publishers Association contest. It wins third place for Youth-Oriented Content.

Over time I have come to realize the line between arts and crafts is a bit fuzzy. I never thought of myself as an artist but others have begun referring to me as one. Maybe I am.

As I continue scratch-building scale-model miniatures and painting figures, I focus in and all my worries go away. I think back to fond memories of my childhood. I'm still a child - just with more experience.