Jewelry Making in “the Zone” Reduces Stress

by Janine Gerade.
(Holliston, Massachusetts USA)

Beading in the Zone Reduces Stress by Janine Gerade  - featured on Jewelry Making Journal

In this busy world of texting, deadlines, bills, kids, appointments how do we unwind?

There have been studies that show sitting down to a quiet craft can help.

I find that when I am doing repetitive steps or concentrating on a beading pattern I wind up in the “zone”.  The “zone” is when your mind quiets down, all background noise fades away; you’re concentrating at the task at hand and time seems to fly by.

Jewelry Making in "the zone" Reduces Stress 1

I used to notice this at college. I was majoring in Graphic Design. When I was creating artwork on the computer, before I realized it, our 3 hour studio class was over!

I find this quiet time in the zone calmed the noise in my head. Things like the never ending to- do list, the “shoulda” and “what-ifs”.

Labor intensive jewelry doesn't scare me anymore when I am relaxed

Labor intensive jewelry doesn’t scare me anymore when I am relaxed

You don’t need to be an expert in jewelry making to get the calming effects. A simple patten of bead weaving, bending a few wires to make earrings, and even organizing beads into bins can calm the mind.

Definitely in the "Zone" when I made this one...

Definitely in the “Zone” when I made this one…

One of my favorite classes to teach is the wrap bracelet. It can be a knotted or bead woven project with the same goal. To make a gorgeous bracelet that wraps a few times around the wrist. This project is a bit long, because you have to make a longer bracelet to wrap around. During this process some of my students get either really “quiet” or chit- chat and get to know each other.

My studio where I teach

My studio where I teach

This is the main reason people still love to take classes rather than just learn from a video online. Another reason is that there is someone there to answer your questions or if you get stuck, to help you out.

Janine Gerade
janinedesign jewelry at Etsy

FREE - Get 7 Super Jewelry Making Hacks

Get Rena's 7 Super Jewelry Making Hacks, plus the Jewelry Making Journal Newsletter - all for FREE.

We Respect Your Email Privacy

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 8 comments