I bought the new issue of Artful Blogging on Friday. Yesterday, I spent the day doing work for my graduate courses and looking at the pages of Artful Blogging was my treat for sustained work. Today, my treat will be to begin to read the articles from the bloggers.
I am working on a Masters in Writing from Rowan University in NJ. I was neglecting the writing side of my creativity and this program tied into my professional life as a curriculum supervisor for Language Arts and Reading as well as my creative side with the ability to explore creative non-fiction, memoir, and more journalistic writing such as feature writing. I will complete this program next year and I have no regrets about having spent this enormous amount of money on a personal whim. Unfortunately, what has suffered has been my other creative outlets.
I paint in Chinese watercolor techniques. It has been months since I have ground ink to paint. I work with paper and create cards with rubber stamps and all of the extras, but my main focus is the use of paper. I worked on cards in December because I had received some gifts and wanted to give personally created thank-you cards and I knew of some upcoming birthdays and events that needed cards. I also made a set of cards as a gift for a friend. So, I created for a very practical purpose and that window of opportunity closed, the semester began and this avenue of creativity ceased. My husband and I have been working with photography and I would love to explore it further. Right now, it’s just on my list of things to do when I finish grad school. Then there is my love of fabric and the needle arts . . .
But, my list can’t wait until I finish grad school. The inspiration that I am getting from reading Artful Blogging and the blogs of others such as Inspiraculum make me want to create now. My task or my test is to find a way to incorporate all of my creativity into one project. Or to at least incorporate multiple genres into my projects.
How do others who work full-time and have full lives find time for their art? I would love to hear from others and how you manage this.
When I was in grad school the first time, there was a semester when my money was not right and I had to take a semester off. I was used to going to class one night a week and had established a routine with a babysitter and my children for that night.
