It’s one of the oldest human things there is — older than writing, older than farming. And it’s good for us: making something widens your perspective and turns an idea into something real you can point to. In a world tuned for speed and output, that isn’t a luxury. It might be exactly what’s missing.
Oldest known figurative cave art: Sulawesi, Indonesia.
People have been answering that question for as long as there have been people.
people had measurably lower stress-hormone levels after just 45 minutes of making art — and the effect held no matter their artistic experience. You don’t have to be “good at art” to get what art gives.
Kaimal, Ray & Muñiz — Drexel University, Art Therapy (2016)
Not because we dislike making — because of the stories we tell ourselves.
JoyJems asks for zero skill or training. Peel, place, done. The research is clear that the good stuff of making doesn't depend on being good at it.
Because stained glass is beautiful. The kind of beautiful that stops you at a window. If it just weren’t so hard, so slow, and so expensive to make, we’d happily be a stained-glass kit company. JoyJems is how you get that glow without the barrier:
The look and light of real stained glass — made in an afternoon, by anyone.
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