This is my third attempt at claiming a little piece of the online world to share my thoughts/rambles/writing. However, this time (in the words of the immortal fab four and the oh-so-sexy Joe Cocker) I plan to “get by with a little help from my friends.” (Enter stage right: my first shameless plug for Indie By Design:)
This whole process was initially inspired by my struggle with balancing a love for piecing words together, turning light into memories, obsessing over music, and deepening my love of the arts, while also trying to develop a career path/life plan that won't crush my soul.
This struggle has led to a couple of conclusions.
1) I have hobby attention deficit disorder (hobby a.d.d.).
This became strikingly clear over the holidays. While running into Hobby Lobby for a skein of yarn to finish a scarf, I stopped by a local coffee shop for an afternoon pick-me-up. While in said coffee shop, I saw an adorable wreath made out of Christmas ornaments and balls of yarn. The trusty iPhone captured a photo and I spent the next hour scouring the Hobby Lobby for the perfect glittery red Christmas balls, funky green yarn, and wintry-wonderland adornments to weave into the beautiful grapevine wreaths I found. Needless to say, a month later the yarn and glittery goodness and wreaths are still in a holiday basket– untouched. That scarf, which the original skein of yarn was for, remains unfinished (maybe it will be a gift for next year?) and I’ve moved on to a new love: pottery. Oy vey.
2) My life is chaotic. Always.
I’m not quite sure why I can’t find this magic groove that some (well-adjusted) people seem to find. I know women who have it all. You know, the women who have spotless homes and active social lives and beautiful relationships and time for a weekly mani/pedi. These are the same women who transition from work to yoga class to dinner flawlessly. These are the women whom you never see sweat. I WANT TO BE ONE OF THESE WOMEN. Yet, the harder I try to “have it all” the crazier I become. I’m the woman who is consistently running 5-15 minutes late (on a good day), eating meals in the car, wearing wrinkly clothes to work, and having one night stands with creativity. I think the hobby a.d.d. perpetuates this chaos since I am constantly trying to squish my interests into an already busy life, which leaves me feeling exasperated… The art therapy aspect of pursuing all these endeavors is wasted because I can’t ever find enough time to actually finish a project or really develop an interest.
3) There has to be a way to harness my creative energy in a positive way.
After thinking about my relationship with all of these different creative whims, I came to the conclusion that there must be a way to connect my love of writing and photography with the growing list of things on my life’s “learn to do” list. And that is when this latest little brain child was born: I am starting a year-long writing experiment that can help me develop twelve different interests. Each month of 2010 will be dedicated to a hobby that I’ve wanted to explore. To jump-start this little project, I started my Creative Gratification journal and signed up for a wheel-throwing pottery class to pursue the life long urge to create functional art. So far, the class has helped me focus my energy and really learn the art of working with clay. (Plus, the wheel and clay stay at the studio which has saved precious real estate in the mini apartment:)
In addition to harnessing my own creative energies, I have recently cashed in on a whole lot of good karma by connecting with the brilliant minds behind Pursuit of Etcetera and Sweet Tranquility. These fabulous ladies and I have joined forces to support, nurture, and encourage each other’s personal pursuits of etcetera so that our once crazy lives can be sweet, tranquil, and (creatively) gratifying.
With a collaborative spirit, and a collective can-do attitude, we will be evolving as strong women who are fiercely, unforgivingly, and unabashedly independent. There are no words to express the good vibes and positive motivation that this project has created and I can’t wait to see what is to come! Here's to twelve months (and more) of inspiration!
No comments:
Post a Comment