The Rise of AI and the Coinciding Rise of Tangible Hobbies

It's been a while.

A lot has changed since I've posted last.

In my personal life, There have been a few major changes - The most recent change being that I left my corporate job and am going to begin taking ceramics classes tomorrow, which I'm really excited about.

Ceramics has been something that I've wanted to dabble in for a while, and I feel extremely privileged to be able to take this class.

Aside from my personal life, many things have changed in the world as well, one of the biggest (from a creative perspective) is the rise of AI, which didn't exist to the degree it does now when I last posted in 2022.

My Thoughts On AI:

I'll make my thoughts clear on it now. When it comes to the creative side of things, I see AI as a form of theft, especially for any creators who have made a painting or written a book or blog, and had this data, writing, or art scraped by one of these programs. It is also destructive of the environment, and puts money into the pockets of people who should not have as much power as they do.

I will never use AI for image generation or for writing. None of my blogs will ever use AI in any way as long as it exists and works in the way it currently does. Any art I create now or later will 100% be from my own hands.

My Tangible Hobbies:

Now that we have that out of the way, I'll get to the fun stuff!

• Knitting:

A few years ago I picked up knitting. My gateway into that hobby was actually this pumpkin circular loom kit which I got from Target a few falls ago.

As with all hobbies for me, that circular loom kit was a slippery slope that lead me to crocheting a few Amigurumi, and then deciding that since I like clothes and I love the look of knit sweaters, I would learn how to knit.

Luckily, I have a friend who's mom knows how to knit, and she taught me the basics. From there, I hit the ground running, and began watching knit youtubers religiously as I began gathering ideas from Ravelry (which is an amazing place if you want to see patterns, projects, have a community of knitters, and a catalog of yarns and their projects. I hesitate to call it a social network for knitters because it is way more than that)...

Since I've started knitting I've been able to make these projects along with many others:

Flora Sweater designed by Irene Lin. Yarn is La Bien Aimee Alix in Nymeria held with Naturally HCW LBJ Silky Lace.Knit by Christie Mattos.

Here's a Ravelry link to my Flora Sweater.

Daphne Beanie designed by Sari Nordlund.Yarn is Cascade Heritage 5779 Thistle held with Valley Yarns Southampton in 7 Enchanted. Knit by Christie Mattos.

Here's a Ravelry link to my Daphne Beanie.

New Norma Sweater designed by My Favourite Things Knitwear. Yarn is all vintage and came from a stash my friends mom gave me. Yarns used include Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Dark Charcoal, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in 300611 Brick, and Reynolds Icelandic Homespun in #405. Knit by Christie Mattos.

Here is a Ravely link to my -probably favorite knit- the New Norma Sweater.

• Reading

I've started reading again. It's really been helping me stay off my phone, along with keeping my hands busy while I knit. I have been tracking the books I'm reading using the hardcover app. You can follow me there if you would like. Here's a link to my Hardcover page. But even if you choose not to follow anyone, if you are a reader, I highly recommend Hardcover since it lets you easily track your books and see what others might think about the books that you are reading.

I also really like that I'm able to track the books that I already own in Hardcover so that I don't accidentally buy the same book twice when I'm at a secondhand book shop.

Some of my favorite books so far are "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers, "Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and "Mina's Matchbox" by Yoko Ogawa.

• Drawing & Painting

I'll admit that I haven't done this in a while, but I completed a long-time goal which was to create a cohesive set of artwork and have it hanging on my wall right now. The name of this series is called "Solitude". I had been playing with the idea of selling them as prints but honestly with the rise of AI, I'm a bit hesitant to place them somewhere that the designs could be stolen, so for now they're just on my wall.

All art by Christie Mattos using Goauche Paint on Watercolor Paper.

• Jewelry Making

I've been having a fun time making stretchy bracelets. They're really easy and fun to make.

Making your own stretchy bracelets:

Just a few tips: If you make these, make sure to pre-stretch your elastic by tugging each end a bit so that it's settled in a bit. Also use a dab of glue like e6000 on the knot to keep it from coming undone.Otherwise, all you really need to make these are some cute beads, stretchy beading elastic, and some glue!

This is just a few of my handmade bracelets!

• Ceramics

I don't start this one until tomorrow, but I'm including it in this list because it's fixing to be one of my main hobbies. I plan to get all my money's worth for this class and already have a ton of ideas for projects I'd like to start. I have been enjoying watching people make ceramics on youtube.

My favorite so far has been "Pottery to the People". She's extremely creative and really experimental. Thanks to watching her (and other) videos, I feel like I have just a bit of a head start and know the lingo and the process a bit better.

Closing

I want to end this post on on a positive note - With the rise of AI, I have seen another rise.

People seem to be looking for ways to connect more with their own creativity, or just looking for ways to get away from their computers.I along with many others have picked up hobbies like knitting - It seems like there is a lot more interest in arts & crafts in general.

I know that this may sound a bit corny, but I mean it. When a person make something, whether it be a digital artwork, or a handspun skein of yarn, or a handmade sweater, there is a piece of that person that becomes a part of it.

I want to support artists not only because I like the object they made (although I do think that as well), but because there is a human being behind its creation, and I want to help support human beings behind creation because artists and creators are important.

Art is ultimately about humanity, and that's what I want to support, and I feel comforted knowing that so many others feel this way too.

I am going to try to post more to this blog, so feel free to follow me if you'd like to see what I'm up to. I'm at a different phase of life right now and am not sure what will come of this blog in the long run. I hope to continue it, and I'm sure I'll post a little bit of everything that I'm up to. I post more regularly on Instagram currently. My old art account is currently private since I don't really use it anymore, but I can be followed publicly at @mysustainabilityproject on instagram.