What Is *A* Makerspace?

A makerspace is a place focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and technology all come together and where members can come to use shared tools to make new things. Sometimes called hackerspaces, they can be places where computer folx gather to make technology do things it wasn’t originally designed to do. The history is democratic and distributed, meaning there’s no one body with authority to say what is and isn’t the “way it is;” I’ve heard some say that the hackerspace movement goes clear back to the 1950’s with people working on bicycles to create human powered conveyances of incredible complexity and intricacy.

Makerspaces in pubic libraries and other public shared spaces tend to have expensive equipment that an individual wouldn’t necessarily own, such as a laser cutter, 3-D printer, etc. Collaborative shared  spaces have things like metalshop, woodshop, science labs, programming groups working on functional tech like Raspberry PI, ceramic kilns, sewing areas, and even weaving and spinning. Some have kitchens where members can practice food and fermentation science.

Image used under Creative Commons license.

What Is *Makerspace*?

When I say “makerspace,” I mean the shared space we create together when we put the focus on making. Whether that “making” is craft like knitting and weaving, or cooking, or home design, or coloring in a coloring book, the focus is on the act of creation and creative expression. To hold space for someone is to sit with them with whatever they’re feeling or thinking, without judgment and without offering advice. Giving them the space to be. Therefore, makerspace is holding space for us to be creative, together, and to support each other in that process.

Why Is It Important?

We are inundated with information. We have smartphones, tablets, smart watches, laptops, computers, televisions, and even smart refrigerators. We are surrounded by constant noise. This is not healthy. It floods us with inputs and drowns out our own, innate, inner voice. We can literally no longer hear ourselves think.

To step out of this, to set purposeful space and time aside from it, is not only healthy it is by its nature a radical act. All acts of creation are radical acts: the saying to the Universe, I don’t accept what is, I create the new. When we get caught up in the flow of consumer data and algorithm-driven input, we forget how to do this. Deliberately creating makerspace can help us to gradually remember how, and teaches us how to hold space for ourselves.

What we focus on, grows. The act of paying attention – think about that word, paying – focuses our minds and hearts on something specific. If we focus that on negative inputs like algorithm-driven news and infotainment, we are not, in fact, learning. We are numbing out to what is real – and worse, that negativity grows within us and we see more of it. If, instead, we focus on making, we begin to find opportunities to do so more and more. Try this: close your eyes and think of the color red. Think of flowers and paintings, the sunset, red lips, red nail polish. Think of strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, and apples. Hold that in your mind for the space of at least ten breaths. Then, throughout the next week, see how often you notice red in your environment. Look for it, and note it – even write it down.

The results might surprise you.

How Can I Play In Makerspace?

At Writer Zen Garden, we host weekly craft events on Saturdays from noon to 2:00 P.M. Pacific time. If you would like to join us, hang out and make something, drop your info in our handy form and we’ll include you in our next invite.

You can create your own makerspace by inviting some friends to gather. In the time of pandemic, when it may not be safe to gather in person, (or all your friends are on the internet), you can schedule a Zoom or Google Meet session and try it out.

You can look for events in your community, either by looking up “community calendar” with your community’s name, or check out meetup.com.

Humans are wired for community. If you can’t find yours, make it. Invite folks. Like they say in the movie, Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.”

Together, we can make it happen.