Older women and the communities they’re crafting
Illustration & animarion by Grace Russell
by Tegan Forder
“Thank you very much for joining me today, I’m going to show you how to make a Z-fold card.”
This is my mom, Kay Forder, talking to more than 600 subscribers on her YouTube channel. She’s amassed this following through three years of recording craft tutorials.
After retiring, she took up cardmaking as a creative outlet, before adding art and junk journals to her repertoire. As the name suggests, junk journals are made from junk mail, magazines, or whatever you have around the house, and can be used for note-taking or keeping holiday mementos.
“I never thought of myself as creative at all. Then when I started making cards, I thought, ‘Maybe I am.’”
A sense of purpose
Grace Russell
“I started making cards because I really loved making them, and then my husband asked what I was going to do with them all,” says Forder, who started selling her creations at markets and via Etsy.
For the serious makers, junk journals can fetch up between $200–$300. Many crafters also monetize their YouTube channel or have created communities on Patreon and in Facebook groups.
Embroiderer and teacher Anna Scott thinks women taking up creative hobbies or side hustles later in life is down to them having the time and space to pursue them.
“They retire or are close to retirement, and the kids have moved out, and it’s a bit of ‘me’ time — whether that’s for relaxation, or they want to learn something new,” says Scott.
“Lone Tree,” an embroidered work by Anna Scott
Susan Luckman, professor of culture and creative industries at the University of South Australia, agrees. She says many women feel like they have to put their own creative dreams on hold to bring in an income and focus on their children.
“Once they become empty nesters, or at least their children reach adulthood, the space is available to them to return to pursuing this dream — often now in a position of slightly greater financial comfort than they might have had as younger people,” says Luckman.
Luckman says this trend was backed by a national study where researchers followed recent craft graduates of university visual arts programs across their first three years following graduation.
“We were really struck by how many of the research participants were not the younger people we had presumed, but rather women in their 50s and 60s now going ‘back to school’ with their children’s encouragement and blessing (and frequently support to set them up online).”
Finding community online
Kristina Woodward, a crafter from Queensland, discovered these creative YouTube offerings during COVID-19 lockdowns. “I enjoyed them so much and got to know the people, and we became like a little community of crafters. It gave me the confidence to also start a channel.”
“I like the online crafting community for the inspiration, encouragement, and friendships,” Woodward says. “You don’t have to leave home to spend crafty time with friends.”
Grace Russell
A review of 93 studies found visual and creative arts were associated with reduced feelings of loneliness and improved sense of community and social connectedness.
Having a presence on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram also helped Scott when she was dealing with her husband’s illness before he passed away in 2022.
“In that period, that’s where social media was good because I could keep it ticking over without having to do too much, and that meant I had the customer base to start ramping it up again.”
Scott’s community is mainly women between ages 50 and 90, with many of her online customers coming from the US. She’s a member of patchwork, dollhouse, and embroidery communities online. There is growing evidence taking part in art and craft activities can help improve health and well-being.
A review of more than 3,000 studies by the WHO Regional Office found the arts can play a major role in the prevention of ill health and management of illness across the lifespan. Forder finds the process of making meditative, saying it’s helped her get through some hard times managing chronic health issues.
“I think mentally it's helped a great deal, especially when I've gone through my health challenges. It helps me to feel emotionally stronger,” Forder says.
The study concluded that there is value in using the arts to prevent the onset of mental illness, age-related physical decline, and even when assisting in acute and end-of-life care.
Margaret Carlock-Russo, former president of the American Art Therapy Association, says doing something creative can provide relaxation, stress relief, and help to take one's mind off personal concerns. In addition to this, Carlock-Russo says older women taking part in craft or art activities, especially in a group setting, can have many positive benefits.
“Being involved in a creative group online can enhance social connections, provide a sense of community, and mitigate loneliness,” Carlock-Russo says. “It can also help develop positive habits, activate imagination, and bring a new sense of purpose to one's life. There can be a lot of personal growth and gratification from being involved in creative endeavors.”