Nature vs Nurture

A cousin of mine has recently connected with me through facebook and I am happy she did so.

She feels like a friend and the only drawback is that she is in Arizona.

She is also a crafter and makes some spectacular beaded jewelry.  I make earrings and bracelets and such but nothing with such complexity.  Now she's shared her blog with me and now only does she bead but she repurposes as well.

All of this has gotten me thinking.  What gives us our talents?  Nature or nurture.

I have always been making things for as far back as I can remember.  I'm not saying I am an artist just someone who crafts.  I don't stick to just one thing.  I do paper crafts and poly clay and make art dolls, decorate wreaths and whatever catches my fancy.  When the sons were young we had found a large dollhouse at Sally army that the boys wanted turned into a base for their volton Action figures and I spent an entire day making furniture and a command center out of carfboard and shiny paper.  Then there was the halloween top hat that I painted and fun foamed so that it became a haunted hat.  Both sons are creative.  With Josh it's been drawing, then the violin followed by the sax and now along with his cooking, he paints warhammer figures and just recently has started painting a model of a sailing ship.  Casey's talent is mainly his words and computers but now he's become quite the handiman around his house, much like my father was. 

Nature or nurture.  Many of my cousins and my cousins' kids are talented in many ways.  THese are the cousins on my father's side where a Gifted and Talented kid isn't anything unusual,  There are those that paint and those that play music and those that have a way with words and those who decorate and those who craft.  Do we all share a gene?  Or were we all blessed with parents who allowed us to be creative and some who encouraged us to spread our wings and fly? 

I would like to think is is nature.  It would make me feel so connected, like we all had this wonderful secret we hold close to our hearts.  A secret we take our occasionally, admire, grin like fools and then tuck it away again.

All of this makes me wish I was closer to my other cousins.  The failing is mine, I fear.  I simply believe that people are only being nice or putting up with me and I don't want to bother them.  So I don't.  NOt an excuse but an explanation.  Self esteem definitely comes under nurture.

Talent??  However we got our talents and our desires to create, I'm glad I have mine, even if I am only gluing odd stuff to a wreath or making my umpteenth polymer clay whatever or walking about with an unknown streak of glitter across my nose.  I makes me calm and sometimes, when the stars are just right, I make something that surprises me.