Joe Barry sent me a paper written by Rudolph J. Drillis called Folk Norms and Biomechanics published in 1963. It presents a wealth of information which I hope to share in the coming weeks. This article can be ordered on-line if you are a subscriber to PubMed.

Yesterday, while my wife and I had a craft day visiting the War eagle Show, my daughter Lucy at Columbia had a craft day of her own. Being in an academically charged environment with lots of homework, she and friends decided to get out their limited amount of crafting supplies and have a craft-play-therapy day of their own. In addition to all the other things the hands do, (if you have been either reading here, or paying attention to your own hands, you know they do a lot) they are quite good at keeping the head on straight. As I've mentioned before, every artist and craftsperson I know confesses to the value of their work in shaping their feelings, helping them to moderate their attitudes and enhance their levels of self-esteem. I have inquired of a number of mental health experts and have yet to find anyone who has done a clinical study of this, but the anecdotal evidence is profound and overwhelming.

Any questions, pick an artist at random and ask. You may learn that making things is safer and more effective than prozac or any other over the counter pharmaceutical. The correct dosage is self-prescribed. But, sorry, as far as I know, no one has found out any ways to make lots of money from it, which may explain why no studies have been done. You need not be a professional artist to receive the full benefits.