Interview with Tina Barseghian, Author of Get a Hobby!
Cover of Get a Hobby! by Tina Barseghian
I recently had the privilege of chatting with Tina Barseghian, author of Get a Hobby!: 101 All-Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle; the book is exactly that—a most-excellent compendium of 101 different hobbies you can take up, from mushroom hunting to Polaroid transfers. Tina explains it far better than I do, below the fold.
Want to snag my free copy of the book? Comment below and let me know how a hobby (or two, or three) has impacted your life. I’ll pick a winner at random on June 5.
Update: Dustywheat is our randomly picked winner!
Your book is more of an encyclopedia-type overview than a straightforward how-to guide. What should readers hope to get out of it?
My objective with the book was to provide a broad overview of each of the hobbies, so that if you’re interested in, say, making stained glass, you can find out what it takes to get started. Many of these hobbies are far more complicated than I had the space to explain, so I couldn’t go into too many details. But generally speaking, you can get a rough idea of how each hobby works, the tools you need to get started, and general instructions. I also provide a list of resources—books, magazines, and Web sites—to connect people to the next step of learning more about each hobby.
What role do hobbies play in our lives? Do people tend to focus on just one or dip into many?
In my experience, and in interviewing people while researching the book, hobbies tend to provide a creative or stress-relief outlet for people. Those who don’t have adventurous or creative day jobs can really delve into these hobbies, which give them tremendous pleasure, during their spare time. Something as simple as kite flying can really boost your day, when you’re out in the fresh air, giving flight to a colorful mini-airplane.
Many of the crafty hobbies like crocheting, knitting, embroidery, as I’m sure you know, provide a meditative and calming experience that are totally relaxing. Other hobbies, like faux finishing, batiking, bike customizing, result in a tangible outcome—something you can be proud of accomplishing yourself. And pastimes like birding, caving, urban animal husbandry (raising chickens or pigs), and dog breeding, for example, connect you to nature and other living beings in a way that’s hard to do sometimes when you’re immersed in an urban life.
Typically, people have more than one hobby, whether they recognize them officially as “hobbies” or not. The wine collector might also like to trick out his bike on weekends, and the ice sculptor who’s deft with his hands might whittle on the side. And, of course, those who are adept at sewing are probably great at quilting, crocheting, embroidery, and other similar hobbies.
Are hobbies a relatively modern invention? Do you think, for instance, that cavemen bowled with rocks to take the edge off a day of wrestling mastodons?
Ha! As you probably guessed, hobbies go back thousands of years. Falconry, for example, (teaching falcons how to hunt for prey) goes back to 2,000 BCE. Many of these hobbies evolved from tasks of necessity, like carving out gourds to make containers for water, to pastimes of leisure (gourd-crafting). There’s a great story in The New York Times called “Laid-back Labor” which discusses the difference between doing something you love (cooking, mowing the lawn, gardening) that are also tasks you have to do in your daily life. In my opinion, anything you do for pleasure on a habitual basis is considered a hobby.
In your research, what was the strangest or most obscure hobby you’ve encountered? Which was the most expensive?
There were a couple of strange ones. Gravestone rubbing, which is apparently huge in the U.K. (where, by the way, most hobbies are—people take their hobbies seriously there), was one I’d never heard of. People take a large piece of wax paper and a pencil or charcoal and trace the pattern of the gravestone onto the paper, and take it home. It serves as a piece of art. Also, I’d never heard of falconry, and miniature wargaming was fun to learn about, too. In fact, much of the information in the book was new to me. Of course I’d heard of many of the hobbies, but I had no idea what went into actually doing them, and how rewarding they could be.
Some of the hobbies can really add up in expense. Collecting, for example, can include antique furniture or jewelry, which as you can imagine, can put a dent in the bank account. As far as equipment, I’d say dog breeding ends up costing a lot of money because not only you have to purchase a certified dog, but paying for a vet, setting aside room in your house to breed, paying for medication and food, as needed, can really add up.
What have you personally tried your hand at?
I love photography. I started taking pictures with an old Canon with manual settings and learned about lens sizes and aperture settings, etc., and got instantly hooked. I have been fortunate enough to have traveled a lot in the past 10 years and have taken many photos along the way—not so much of monuments and castles, but mostly trying to capture moments and instances in people’s lives that are telling about where and how they live.
I also dabble a bit in gardening. I love trying to piece together the puzzle of a landscape that’s easy on the eyes and has a natural flow, which is very hard to do, and I have yet to come close to realizing this goal. But I love trying.
What do you suggest for the person who wants to get hobbified, but doesn’t know where to begin or what they might be good at?
Okay, thanks for setting that one up for me. I suggest getting my book (!) to figure out what you might be interested in. I think most people already have an idea of what they’re naturally good at, whether they love listening to or playing music, or working with their hands, etc. They can look at the list of hobbies in the book or in any source in the bookstore, library or internet, and find something that grabs their attention. And away they go!
EnnaVic said,
May 30, 2007 at 1:14 am
That book sounds really interesting :)
A hobby that has impacted my life - that would be Guiding (As in Girl Guides - sisters of Girl Scouts in the US). I became a leader at 18 when I was asked by a neighbour if I was interested as her daughter’s unit needed a helper. I was at a loose end with a severe case of undiagnosed depression after my first year away at University . Becoming involved in Guiding put my on the right track and I am still involved 20 years or so later. It is a wonderful international organisation with great values and a good allround programme for girls.
Nio said,
May 30, 2007 at 6:35 am
What I love doing is photography. And now that I’ve “gone digital” I feel less guilty when I spend the whole day taking pictures.
Blogging has also become a hobby. I truely enjoy reading other people’s thoughts and ideas and like putting mine out there. And blogging is a way to write everyday and that’s what a writer needs to do to hone her craft.
Recently I’ve been taking up sewing. I’m not very good at it yet, but practice makes perfect. Also I got some yarn and a crocheting hook so making crafts is coming down the pike.
lea said,
May 30, 2007 at 7:16 am
While not a crafting hobby, of which I have many, my hobby of Archery changed my life. Archery brought me to places all over the country, introduced me to many incredible people, and even found me a life partner of which I am incredibly grateful for. Sometimes it had its moments of hardship but looking back it was all worth it just to be able to look at the wonderful person I’m with and say that is what brought me to her.
robyn said,
May 30, 2007 at 8:38 am
a hobby that has certainly impacted my life is knitting. and crocheting. i tend to combine the two, so i’m combining them here. i’ve been working with yarn now for over a decade, and in the last three years or so, it’s really taken over my life. i’ve used it to feed my desire to help others and give to charity, as approximately 99% of my knitting goes to charities, from preemie hats to blankets to scarves to sweaters. i have even started a blog about it, which includes an ever-growing list of charities for people to donate their knitted and crocheted goods.
someday i’d like to write a book about my experiences, and turn the blog and charity list into a full-time endeavor somehow. hmmm. so yes, a hobby has definitely impacted my life!
warm with love blog » Blog Archive » Get a Hobby! said,
May 30, 2007 at 8:50 am
[…] the title of a new book, and the focus of an interview over at the worste witch, i wanted to talk about this book/idea for a minute. in the interview, the question of how a hobby has changed you was posed, and while i answered it in her comments, i wanted to talk about it here a bit. […]
Lisa said,
May 30, 2007 at 9:38 am
Knitting has been a wonderful addition to my life. The action is calming. I love the magic as I watch a ball of yarn turn into something useful. And I love creating the perfect gift for someone. I am currently addicted to sock knitting and have discovered that I don’t mind ripping my sock apart, if the yarn is gorgeous and the pattern is fun to knit. Recently, I’ve fallen in love with yarn from indie dyers–I love supporting them and have found that their colors are absolutely gorgeous.
My new hobby is container gardening. As a long time supporter of local farmers, I love having a greater understanding of what it takes to grow food.
Dustywheat said,
May 30, 2007 at 9:53 am
I think I have too many hobbies.
I love scrapbooking, quilting and playing WOW. I’ve just got into altering things. I just started running. I’m trying to knit, but I’m not so good at it and the cats love to play with the yarn. I’ve actually started thinking about making purses and other assorted items from my fat clothes that have been around for a while.
I may need to start scheduling times for my hobbies like meetings for work. I have too many projects swiming around in my head…
Mander said,
May 30, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Like previous commenters, knitting has become a passion for me. For me it’s fun, it’s relaxing, and it proved to be a huge stress-buster for me while playing the waiting game for a baby through adoption. I don’t think I’d have any sanity left otherwise! How does that Zimmerman quote go: “Knit on, through strength and hope, through all crisises”? That’s exactly what I did - I knit on through our homestudy, I knit on during each failed match, I was knitting when we met our son’s birthparents this past February, and I was knitting in the hospital after he was born (when I wasn’t holding him, of course!). Knitting is definitely what sustained me during the last two and a half years.
My other hobby would be digital scrapbooking - I could never get into paper scrapbooking, but I LOVE working with digital elements on the computer. Even better, unlike paper scrapping there’s no mess to clean up! (And no paper supplies to store means more room for yarn! hehe)
alanna said,
May 31, 2007 at 12:30 am
I started sketching daily last year. [I modified it somewhat a few months ago to “being creative” daily. I started an altered book project which took over some of my sketching time. ] The reason I started sketching again was due to the fact that I stumbled in to Danny Gregory’s Everyday matters group. He talks of how seeing the everyday (seemingly mundane) things in life can actually make great subjects to sketch and in doing so, end up capturing the details of your life. This group impacted me so much that I started an art blog and I’ve gone on sketch crawls (sit and sketch things around town with like minded folks) and I plan on going to my first open studio session.
I love it!
Emma Johannessen said,
May 31, 2007 at 4:35 am
My hobby seeped over from my brother which is collecting design objects and furniture from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Mostly retro stuff. We go round to flea markets and garage sales and such. I have also infected my boyfriend with the obsessive need to rummage through lots of old junk to find gems. Now we get itchy as soon as we pass a sign, and have collected rather more than we need. But it still makes sense as a way of preserving culture and being sustainable. The hobby does also require the occasional book about design to find out what we have bought, but i n general we don’t care as long as it’s pretty and preferably orange….
nina beana said,
May 31, 2007 at 8:39 am
my hobby?- letterboxing. it gets me and my family out into nature…hunting for treasures in the forest, stamping, exploring, and finding nature’s treats along the way. we also enjoy rolling around on quilts and getting our feet dirty in the garden.
ellen said,
May 31, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I have had creative hobbies all my life which are not so much life changing as life-continuing. Finding a way to make the things we wanted was a way of life in my family, so I have always liked trying my hand at knitting, crocheting, sketching, candlemaking, sewing, etc.
The hobby that has changed my life is cycling. When I got my road bike I got a whole new circle of friends, a fun reason to spend time outdoors, and a feeling of empowerment from being able to set physical goals and see the results of hard training. My cycling group is the most supportive group of friends I have ever had.
mac said,
May 31, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I have many hobbies, most of which are skills I collect as part of my ‘when the shit hits the fan this will be good to know’ mania. I grow a good portion of my own fruits and vegetables every Summer and currently learning about identifying wild foods for foraging, and I know how to preserve them via blanching and freezing or canning. I can cook anything. I make my own cheese, paper, and blank books. I can process raw wool into roving and spin it into yarn. I can knit anything, from socks to a sweater to a dog bed. I’m a seamstress - I do all of my clothing alterations and make a good portion of my wardrobe myself. I figure if I learn how to weave, make shoes, make my own electricity, and raise cows or goats, I’ll be a one-woman self-contained unit.
I say that a little facetiously, of course. The real benefit to those hobbies is simply being self-sufficient and feeling useful. Not to mention that all of it is great for reducing stress.
Additionally, I relieve stress through dragon boating and skydiving. I’m on an all female dragon boat team that kicks major ass. We’re all adult women with careers, but twice a week we’re out on the polluted Schuylkill River being competitive athletes. It’s pretty awesome, and gets out any aggression I might be harboring. Skydiving is something I only get to do once in a while, but it’s really an amazing feeling.
While all of my hobbies have absolutely changed my life in some way and made my life richer and more interesting, the single best hobby I have is reading. I’m a voracious reader of anything I can get my hands on. I’ve been an avid reader since elementary school, and I am so grateful to love it so much and have the opportunity to have an endless supply of reading material through the public library system. Reading has changed my opinions, shaped my viewpoint, sharpened my imagination, and peaked my interest in a million different things and places. Every single thing I read sparks an interest in knowing more about…everything. I simply want to know more. You know what they say: knowledge is power. And if that’s that case, reading has afforded me the opportunity to become powerful.
megan said,
May 31, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Gardening has changed my life in so many ways.
I always had a garden as a child and picked it up again about 5 years ago. Growing my own food led to an interest in organics, heirlooms and seed saving, which led to me to begin questioning the standard american diet and why we eat the things that we eat. All of those things led to an interest in local foods, community gardens, guerrilla gardening and, eventually, a plant based diet. Gardening also brought me closer to my grandfather in the last several years before he died—probably the best thing that it has done for me thus far.
Stephanie said,
June 2, 2007 at 4:07 am
My two absolute favorite hobbies are crafting and reading. Reading probably comes first; nothing makes me as happy as books. I’m happy just being around books, which is probably why I have the equivalent of the New York Public Library in my apartment. There are books everywhere here. To me, there’s nothing like a really great book. I love to learn new information, to slip into someone else’s life for a few hours and experience what they’ve lived through. I keep a reading journal, and since 2003, I’ve read over four hundred books. I read aloud to my son all the time, everything from “Guess How Much I Love You” to the complete, unabridged text of “A Tale of Two Cities.” He’s four and is already reading like a pro. I am insanely proud. :)
Crafting is my other hobby. Though not as consuming as reading is (for me, anyway), I’m discovering new facets of my personality through this. I started out knitting, just the plain knit stitch, at around age 12, but didn’t really do much with that. I was crazy for cross-stitch one year and cross-stitched something for everyone in my family that Christmas- even the extended relatives (it took me an entire year to get everything done). I picked knitting up again after my son was born and immediately got sucked in. Hats flew off the needles. Mittens followed soon after. Everyone got mittens, scarves and hats that Christmas. I was amazed at the beautiful things I could create. Crochet was a bit difficult for me to understand; I sent many a project flying across the room out of frustration before the lightbulb went on. Now I’m hooked (get it? LOL) and am furiously crocheting Pokemon for my son’s fifth birthday (I have 21 days and three Pokemon to go. Pray for me).
I got a job at a local fabric and craft store last year. I’m their sole knitter, so I’m great for knitting questions, but as I usually work the cut counter, I get far more sewing questions. So, you guessed it, I’m learning to sew. Sew far (jeez, I’m full of it! LOL), I’ve sewed a Halloween cloak for my son (he was Paul Revere, and instead of saying, “Trick or treat!”, he said, “The British are coming, the British are coming!”), a pair of flannel pants for him, a heatable rice bag (to be microwaved for aches and pains), and tonight I finished a pair of shorts for my ds in an adorable black and white animal print. I’m not the best sewer, far from it, but I’m eager to learn and I’m so excited that I’m actually doing this, and my pants look like pants, and my shorts look like shorts. I thought I’d never be able to figure this out, but I DID it! I’m so proud of my work; it’s sew (really, I’ve got to stop this) exhilarating to have something come out well. :)
These hobbies really make up who I am. I love books, information and stories, and I love to create. Without these hobbies, I wouldn’t be ME at all, which would be a shame, because, well, I like me. :)
jill said,
June 2, 2007 at 11:40 pm
I’ve recently picked up sewing. My mom has always wanted to teach me how to sew. It wasn’t until I was an adult, that I took her up on her offer.
I finally have a way to connect with my mom. Sewing is the only recreation that we both enjoy. She sewed dresses for me when I was little, and now we work on projects together.
marychaparro said,
June 3, 2007 at 6:56 pm
The hobby that has me hooked is recycling - finding a second life for things around me. Example,-crocheting plastic grocery bags into tote bags (I live in the tropics, so these make great beach bags), turning chipped plates into mosaic stepping stones, cracked tea cups into bird feeders, bottle caps into jewelry, yogurt continers and the bottom of soda bottles into soap molds, etc.. And best of all, it’s doing just a small bit to help our environment.
Emily said,
June 4, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I just found your wonderful blog today searching for information on sustainable yarns. I guess from that you can tell that a hobby that has really had an impact on my life is knitting! I started knitting about two years ago, when my big hobby was book-making. I was writing poetry at the time and thought of myself as mostly as verbal person. I started learning about book-making and knitting around that time and really realized how much of a visual person I am as well. Knitting especially has sort of given me all this confidence as I tackle new techniques and bigger projects. I have begun teaching some friends and family members how to knit, and I’m a huge advocated of having a hobby - any hobby! - after realizing how much joy I get from mine.
Thanks for your fabulous blog!
Diane said,
June 5, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Oh I hope you haven’t made a choice yet … I’m getting mine in just under the wire.
PHOTOGRAPHY … PHOTOGRAPHY has made a tremendous impact on my life. Going from a full-time professional as a designer … on the computer all day, everyday since first being introduced to a Macintosh for the first time when I was sixteen years old to home, alone with a baby at the age of thirty. A change and transition I was completely not prepared for. I got away with a lot of computer time then still keeping myself sane maintaining a website or two. Then, having had twins buying computer time here and there to blog and/or work on freelance design work was a few short Dora episodes away. But then came the BEST store bought gift I’ve ever received from my husband … a digital SLR … a Canon Rebel EOS. I get my creative fix that design used to give me, and I get to enjoy it with my children. A truly magical combination as they see themselves instatnly become part of my creative process. Combining the loves in one’s life … really, does it get any better? :-)
Oh, and … your blog rules.