Monday, February 8, 2016

Searching For Creative Fulfillment

Recently I've found myself creatively frustrated. It has taken me until now to determine that the frustration runs deeper than just not having anything come off of the needles. I realized that I have somehow turned all my creative endeavors into work. Since being creative is what fills me up, and all my creativity has been turned into work, I have felt quite empty. I started abandoning social events because I felt too drained. I've also had a sinus thing going on, which hasn't helped matters, but has forced me to be quiet enough to do some intense introspection.

I realized that when Connor is at work, I make sure I am hard at work all day. (I work at home, so my time is more flexible.) And when Connor is home, I spend time with him. What I need in my life to be fulfilled creatively is time dedicated to doing creative things for the fun of it... when I am alone. After having a good talk with Connor and hearing him say things like, "Of course you should be doing fun things for yourself." I have finally decided to give in and let myself have some time to play.

I've been dying to paint for quite some time now. There are so many ideas in my head, but I've not let them out for fear of not staying dedicated to some arbitrary deadlines I made myself. I've given up those deadlines. (Like having more patterns out for Stitches West.) Patterns will come out when they are good and ready. Today I painted for a bit instead. Because I have such a backlog of ideas, I found myself getting a little intimidated by the time I would need and the fact that I haven't painted in, well, years. So today, in the interest of just starting, I decided to paint a still life.

My Granddad had found this glass Japanese fishing float along the shores of New Zealand after a storm. After my grandmother passed away, the house was sold and he moved to a smaller place. I was allowed to choose one thing from their house to ship home. Dad told me his wallet regretted not having any limitations on the offer since the float isn't small and the shipping was quite expensive. But I'm happy I have it.

So that's what I painted today. Something small and simple.

Here's a close up. It's not perfect, but it's better than I thought I might be able to do after so many years of not practicing. I used gouache paints for those who might be curious.

I'd like to give Ann Wood some credit. She often writes about the difficulties that she encounters as a professional creative. I especially liked her post when she decided that she needed to start sketching regularly. It inspired me to just start and reminded me that it is ok to start small.

7 comments :

Anonymous said...

That is beautiful Audry. I am glad you are allowing yourself some creative 'me' time. You need that to stay inspired as a designer. I'm looking forward to seeing your other creative endeavours!

Alicia said...

Agree, creative alone time is so important. Glad you were able to recognize that and find a way to fit it in!

Anonymous said...

I absolutely relate to what you're talking about here. I think that's partly where my blogging block over the last few years has come from: After spending hours and hours on the computer at work, I just didn't want to be one at home, even though the reason I was using it was for fun. Finding balance, or another outlet, is so important. Good for you (and for Connor) for figuring out what you needed and how to make it happen.

Jennifer said...

This post really spoke to me about the hole in my soul from not having time for creative enjoyment. Thank you, this is good for me to seriously ponder. Of course, mine is the result of a wee babe, but I think there should still be ways that I can flex my creative muscle.

Andrea @ This Knitted Life said...

I find it hard to balance my creative drives with my non-creative spouse...always thinking I should sit and talk with him instead of doing my own thing. Sometimes I wish he had his own hobbies (instead of just watching tv and sports) so we could both do our own thing, together. Good luck...I think it helps just to have reasonable expectations and a "slow journey" approach. xoxo Andrea @ This Knitted Life

Alina Sayre said...

Beautiful painting! Ever thought about an Etsy shop?

Elaine said...

I am late to the game... just now reading this :3 Looks great!!! Yay for choosing to do some creative things ^_^ And, yeah, balancing that with everything else you need/want to do day to day can be challenging for sure!

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...