cover photo by Pauline Bartolone

Miles Boudreaux doesn’t need science to tell him woodworking is good for his mental health. His vocation—which is also his hobby—has given him daily respite for almost 30 years.

Boudreaux, 53, co-leads the woodworking department at The Crucible, an industrial arts space in Oakland, CA, where he teaches his craft to small groups of adults and school-aged kids.

Boudreaux started out as a carpenter in residential construction. He now teaches woodworking full-time, in addition to making custom-built furniture on commission. He’s so hooked on the feeling of wood in his hands that even after a full day of classes, he’ll relish the extra hour he can squeeze in after putting his 10-year-old daughter to bed, using the time to work on a new wooden container or a customized bench.

“It’s a pressure-release valve,” Boudreaux says. Who needs a “manufactured” vacation, when he can blow off steam with a daily creative fix? When his daughter was a baby and he was a stay-at-home parent, he even built her a protective “tower,” so she could safely be with him in the workshop.

To some, picking up a handsaw or sanding some wood may seem tedious, or something best done by someone you hire. But psychology studies have poured in over the years, showing how busy fingers give people a sense of calm and accomplishment, and make them feel that life is worth living. Norwegian researchers say manipulating materials by hand can put us in a flow-like mental state, deeply engaged in something meaningful. Craft hobbies also allow us to “fail safely,” they found, and feel OK about doing so.

This, too, is something Boudreaux claims he already knew. He calls his wood shop a safe space to “filter out the larger world,” where problems—and politics—just “go away.”

“ It’s a place where you can have those huge letdowns or frustrations, without it [being] like, ‘I’m a bad person,’ or ‘I can’t control the world,’ or, ‘Who voted for this idiot?’” says Boudreaux. He’s also found that woodworking can provide many of the same benefits as going to the gym or meditating. It can even help regulate blood pressure, according to Turkish researchers.

In terms of brain chemistry, It’s still not clear exactly how creativity triggers mental health benefits. Scientific studies require repetition and controlled environments—conditions often incompatible with the creative process. But Boudreaux has seen enough to have developed some persuasive theories.

Craft, he has found, sets our problem-solving skills in motion, a process of trial-and-error that can be both frustrating and rewarding. “ There’s the sunshine and rainbows,” he says of watching his students’ pride after working through their mistakes. On the flip side, students also learn basic lessons, such as  ”I’m definitely never gonna do [it] that way again.”

Another study, out of Finland, found that craft hobbies gave adult women a sense of empowerment and “personal worth.” Boudreaux says he’s seen this play out at The Crucible: Adults and kids alike will start a class with timid, uncertain faces, but by the end of the course, they’ve flashed a “holy shit” look at their creation.

“They don’t think they can do it when they walk in the door. And they all can,” he says, “Every single one of them.”

Boudreaux says the finite, tangible nature of craft is particularly satisfying: You put hours into a project, you complete it, and then you can actually use what you made.

Beyond the satisfactions that are right in front of you, craft also seems to improve the culture around us. A study by Bosnian psychologists found that the act of making something helps us develop close relations with others, and strengthens cultural heritage. Boudreaux says his adult students, who may have never seen spinning blades or sawdust in their lives, quickly form bonds.

”They get interested in each other’s designs… [and] in problem-solving with each other.” Within just a few classes, students are eating lunch together; showing up with cookies and tangerines to share; even behaving like old college roommates.

“It’s just really sweet. And  [it happens] in a really short period of time.”