Martial Crafters!

It's nice to have company - and look who I found on Folksy ... a fellow martial-crafter clan member! Lovely Diomo is a stained glass artist who is also an archer. She kindly agreed to be bloggerviewed and to shine some light on how a martial art and crafting art fit into her life. 

Bow : )

Can you tell me a bit about the martial art you practice?

Looking at the field, it’s less martial art and more social gathering! Lol. I do archery, because for quite some time I’ve fancied giving it a go. There is of course a serious side to it, safety being paramount but to the individual the commitment can vary enormously. There is a zen to archery. It’s certainly not just point and shoot, it’s skill, patience, practice, thinking and sometimes not thinking too much.

Diomo's compound bow. Beautiful

Does your martial art suit your character?

Perfectly. And my life in many ways. I’m something of a perfectionist and of course I want my arrows to always go in the middle! They don’t of course, but that’s why I practice. It can be frustrating but also gives a huge feeling of achievement. It’s an individual sport as well as a team sport.

I (still) sometimes forget to breathe when practicing karate. What do you sometimes forget when training?

It’s so easy when at full draw with a 40lb bow to hold your breath! But the biggest problem is often thinking through the whole shooting process - it’s the quickest way to tense up!

Right ho, time to blow your trumpet : ) Two big toots please. Can you tell me about your biggest triumphs in both crafting, and archery?

My first triumph would have to be that I am now a stained glass artist - that’s means I have a career! I design, build and restore windows as well as have fun making the smaller items.

The second I would say is my archery ‘count’ - in 2 ½ years I have 41 medals, 2 trophies (that I keep winning!) and about 12 club records. I am the top female recurve & compound archer in my club. I’ll stop blowing now! lol

Diomo's 'Braggin' Board'. That's a lot of winning bling : ) Congratulations!

What about your biggest challenges in the future - crafting and training or competition wise?

Building up business is a big challenge, largely because people aren’t spending money yet after the recession. I have confidence in my work but getting a big enough portfolio built up is difficult if the work isn’t coming in.

Archery wise - to practice more recurve shooting and to keep improving with the compound - although there’s little pressure with the compound as I’ve only been shooting it a couple of months!

Any lesson you’ve learnt in archery, which you could apply to your craft … or vice versa?

I’ve had it confirmed that I am good at working on my own and the results of what I do are solely down to me. But that’s how I like it.

Have you found a happy balance between life / work / crafting and training? Tips gratefully received…

I have worked hard to achieve a fairly relaxed feel about work. I get to choose my own hours, work in the way I want to and I get to make the things I want to make. Freedom because I’m self-employed. And as archery is something I and my husband chose to do, that too is as competitive or relaxed as we want it to be. I can work extremely hard when I want to and on the things I want to work on and therefore the rewards are so much better.

My totally gorgeous, chic and tinkly pendants from Diomo

In your craft and your martial art what or who inspires you?

I don’t think there’s one person that inspires me, it’s the collective range that makes me go ‘wow’. How different everyone is and how everyone tackles the same thing so differently. What inspires me, or motivates me, is looking at what I have achieved and always wanting to do better.

What is your favourite piece of kit?

My bows or my glass cutter? Couldn’t do anything without them! Lol

How do you know if you are in the zone?

When I’m shooting, surprisingly, glass never crosses my mind! When I’m working, putting arrows in the gold never crosses my mind! It’s like single vision, nothing else matters.

Would you share three things with us?

Thought for the day - if you don’t try, you’ll never know!
Your blog - http://diomoglass.blogspot.com/
Your Folksy shop! - DiomoGlass 

Thank you very much for your time and thoughts, Ms. Diomo. Talented, determined, with excellent aim...

Here is a selection of the beautiful (and cute) creations in Diomo's shop

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Y'Know, there are more of us out there. Ms. Birdcage Creative has also kindly agreed to share some thoughts on practicing kuk Sool Won, a Korean martial arts system, and making be-ooo-tiful things. Coming soon : )