After spending ten years doing hardly anything creative I could no longer live that way. After learning that my kids did not even know who made the dragons and creatures around the house I took the risk of diving back into the things I love... the things I NEED so I can be myself.
There is more to what pushed me to do this. A perfectly timed opportunity to take a workshop from the Frouds while still caring for my nursing one year old was so incredible. After three days of sitting right next to Wendy Froud and Brian Froud getting their advise on my creation and hearing their stories, I turned north to take the six hour drive from Oregon to home. I didn't want to go home! I spent the drive looking at this feeling. I love my family. I enjoy being with them even when times are hard so why was I feeling this way?
It came down to a need to have a deep conversation with my husband and to make some drastic changes in and for myself. I need my creativity like I need air and food. I was doing my children no service by sacrificing everything. In fact I was doing them harm.
Since this time I have written two books and have the beginnings of 5 more. Four of my children have written their own books, all six are wanting more books to read or to be read to more often and one child has plans to try to publish a novel he is working hard on.
Since that trip to Oregon I have made a dozen or more new products as well as old beloved ones that I have given as gifts and sold as a vendor at events that have inspired me and given me something to look forward to all year. One of my children has started his own business and sold more items at one of my event than I did! All of the children are learning how I run my business and how to run their own smaller entrepreneurial projects. As I build my websites several of the kids seek lessons from their dad about how to write code. They are all thinking to the future about what they want to be and even more important, how to get there. They see how I make and plan my new creations and they do try their hand at inventing new things.
The children have seen the videos of my past work and now beg me all the time to be allowed to use the borrowed flip camera to make video clips of puppets performing skits. Looks like we need to get our own flip! One of the kids has plans to make a full length movie. He has even already lined up a few performers!
Most important through all this time since my first trip to Oregon is that whenever I am creating I have more energy than I had before. The creating feeds itself leaving me energy to do more creating. But not only do I get enough energy to create more I have tons of energy left that spills over into daily life. The kids and I make creations together, we make chores fun, we play soccer or basketball together or ride bikes around the block. I also manage to keep the house cleaner and our lives more organized all because I take the time to create.
When we have a bought of illness or life gets too busy, I find my puppets and creatures sitting unfinished and I find myself running out of energy... I find myself back to coping through every day. So creativity is a staple of life. Without it our lives are not as rich. Without it our children suffer, my husband suffers. Without creativity I suffer.
Get your daily dose of creativity. See how it changes your life.
