In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month celebrated each May, this year CERF+ is highlighting wellness for craft artists. Wellness matters because it forms the foundation for how people think, create, and connect with others. When physical, mental, and emotional health are supported, individuals are better able to focus, sustain meaningful work, and thrive over time. In creative fields especially, wellness directly influences the quality of artistic practice. We spoke with Erica Stankwytch Bailey about wellness and how she incorporates it into her daily life. Erica has been a full-time jewelry designer and maker for the past 30 years.
“Being asked about wellness initially makes me think about using my body and time. At almost 30 years into metalsmithing, wellness as it relates to my body has taken on a whole new meaning. There was a time when I would feel prideful about working so long and hard that I had to pry my hand off of a piece and manually straighten my fingers, as if it was a maker’s badge of honor to push them that far. These days, I treat my hands much more like I treat my cherished tools – essential and special objects that I am grateful for and careful to take care of and maintain. I love doing the work that I do, and I strive for longevity in my craft. It’s not just about hands obviously, but they are so perfectly symbolic of what we do. Starting to think about my hands as a valued extension (tool) of my creative self has helped me to value and care for my whole body more. Much like my hands, my time has become much more precious too. Wellness seems more about the whole self, body, and mind than ever before. Time used to feel like something that I could manifest when I needed more, and I always needed more. I could stay up later, work more, skip the walk, wake up even earlier, and on and on. But lately I realize that I was never manifesting time, I was only ever taking from myself and often my basic needs. I said earlier that my time is more precious, but maybe the more appropriate word is intentional. I take the time to be thoughtful about how I use, give, and offer my time. It has value and I treat it as such.” –Erica Stankwytch Bailey
Prioritizing wellness is not a distraction from productivity—it is essential to sustaining creativity over the long term. CERF+ and Wellness for Makers launched a DIY video series to promote artist health and wellness. Each video focuses on some of the common problems faced by artists with an active studio practice and includes tips that help relieve strain and reduce the risk of injury. The videos feature Missy Graff Ballone, founder of Wellness for Makers, licensed massage therapist, yoga instructor (RYT 500), and metalsmith. In each video, Missy meets an artist in their studio and offers practical self-care techniques that can be added to their daily studio routine. Watch the series here.
