Sinikka Pöllänen

The meaning of craft: Craft makers' descriptions of craft as an occupation

Abstract The aim of this study is to examine how craft makers describe the meaning of craft as an activity in relation to their well-being. The study is based on an analysis of the written narratives of 92 textile craft makers aged 16 to 84. Based on the results, the well-being enhancing nature of craft as a meaningful occupation for those interested in crafting is evident. The significance of craft making as an occupation is described by the following three themes: (a) “the meaning and value of crafts”, (b) “the feelings experienced during craft activity”, and (c) “the holisticity and intentionality of craft-making”. As an activity and a metaphor, craft making helped the participants to adjust to life situations. Elements of craft that enhance well-being can be traced to both the artefacts and the sense of achievement gained in producing them. The effects of craft include personal growth, development of physical and cognitive skills, control of ones body, thoughts, and feelings, as well as cultural and social awareness. The results indicate that the participants noticed the significance of craft as an agony- and stress-reducing and mind-calming activity. Holistic craft and ordinary craft played different roles in maintaining well-being.

Crafts as Leisure-Based Coping: Craft Makers’ Descriptions of Their Stress-Reducing Activity

The goal of this study was to explore how crafts help women, who do crafting as a leisure activity, cope with stress. This qualitative study is based on the narratives of 15 textile craft makers aged 27–57 who were reporting stress in work and non-work settings. The participants reported that their crafting varied depending on the specific life circumstances they encountered. The analysis revealed that crafts provided recreation, satisfaction, optimism, positive relationships, and support as well as helped participants to cope with negative feelings. Crafts served as a leisure-coping resource and a leisure-based coping strategy.

Crafts as Memory Triggers in Reminiscence: A Case Study of Older Women with Dementia

ABSTRACT This case study explored the benefits of crafts as memory triggers in reminiscence sessions with older women in residential care who had severe symptoms of dementia and had enjoyed crafting as a leisure activity during their lifetime. Three structured reminiscence sessions, involving different kinds of handicrafts, craft material, and craft tools, were used to trigger memories and offer multisensory stimuli. Thematization, quantification, and theory-based reasoning were employed for content analysis. Multisensory triggers activated nonverbal and verbal reactions, sustaining attention and prompting interaction and nonverbal communication. The most interesting triggers stimulated recall of forgotten, pleasing craft experiences.

Future-Oriented Reform of Craft Education

The purpose of this chapter is to describe craft education from three perspectives: current craft education, the challenges craft education will face in the future, and descriptions of two future-oriented pedagogical models with some examples that may reform craft education.

Teachers Insights Into Connected Learning Networks: Emerging Activities and Forms of Participation

The aim of this socioculturally informed study is to explore teachers’ insights into connected-learning activities and networks. An instructional approach based on design-oriented pedagogy (DOP) was employed for a teachers’ in-service project in Finland. An open-ended design task for the participating teachers and educators from kindergartens (N = 27) and primary schools (N = 2) involved designing and implementing a forest-related learning project with their own students or kindergarten children. A deductive content analysis of openly published project portfolios revealed that the teachers and educators harnessed learner interest as a basis for connecting with peers, family, external experts, and extended environments through diverse physical and digital information resources, tool-mediated activities, and the externalization of the learners’ evolving object-oriented ideas. Conclusions are drawn about extended learning networks and activities that afforded inquiry activities to emerge.

Crafting Well-Being: Meanings and Intentions of Stay-at-Home Mothers' Craft-Based Leisure Activity

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the meanings of and intentions behind craft-based leisure activities among stay-at-home mothers. The study attempts to shed light on the meanings of craft in relation to the participants’ and their families’ well-being. This qualitative study was based on the written narratives of 34 stay-at-home mothers, ages 23–40. The meanings of craft-making was described by home centeredness, items as personal fingerprints, mental resources, personal growth and identity, and social relationships. The intentions behind crafting were to help the stay-at-home mothers escape their daily worries, to pursue craft as a form of enjoying their family-centric life, and to enhance self-realization without the added stress of having to do so while negotiating their familys needs. The findings revealed that although the participants’ intentions were to enhance their subjective well-being, they in fact reflected their concern for the well-being of their families.