This post is my 200th, and in about a month I'll be celebrating this blog's second birthday. It's a good time to take stock of where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going with my online presence.
"In this blog I'd like to explore creativity and how to incorporate it into a busy life." That's what I wrote in my first blog post, and it continues to frame the posts I write.
What I have discovered (sometimes painfully) over the course of these two years of blogging is that creativity can't be fitted into the margins of my busy life. It requires a central place. Why? Because it nourishes my spirit. I don't really understand the how of it, frankly. But I know that it helps me look at the people in my life and the world around me with a greater sense of connection and wonder. It urges me to open my eyes and really see. Writing a blog piece or poem, looking through the lens of my camera to frame a photograph, finding the right stitches to realize the details of a sketch--all of these tasks force me to focus and attend. I can't tune out and sleepwalk through my life any more, much as I might want to. The pursuit of a creative life has given me a big kick in the pants, and it isn't always a happy feeling.
I have the tendency in this blog (and in my life!) to sound like I have all the answers. The truth is that this blog forces me to work through the tangle of my thoughts and feelings to find some answers. To marshal all my resources to keep it together. To count my blessings. To counter the occasional downward emotional spiral with something beautiful and positive and life-affirming, like recording in words and pictures the miracle of a fern's unfurling or a skunk cabbage's thermogenesis. And because I have recorded these things in this blog, I will remember them. They will shore me up when I need shoring up. They will remind me of life's rhythms, that the low points will come and go.
So where am I headed? That I can't answer right now, except to say that I will continue to explore creativity as an idea and craft as a daily practice. Since the beginning of the year, I have already written almost half the number of posts that I did in my entire year of posting in 2009. I have completed six handmade items and sold them. The quick explanation for this is that I am no longer working as a textbook editor. It took being turned down for a prestigious job and a year's worth of illness to finally make me realize that I am burned out with editing and need a change.
Without much of a plan, I'm going to continue to use this blog to help me develop my own voice and my ability to communicate clearly. I hope you'll stick around to see what I create and to read about my journey, mostly for selfish reasons. It helps me to know that I'm not alone, that others are documenting their journeys in a similar fashion, looking for ways to use craft to learn more about themselves and to connect with the world around them in a meaningful way. The fact that this blog is fostering a deeper connection with the real world--that's an irony that I am definitely embracing. (These guys understand!)
OK, and my one definite goal for this space and my crafting? To have FUN with it. Like this guy, and this guy. And this one. To play and to give AND have fun at the same time!
7 comments:
Your post are so beautiful and beautifully written. Sometimes it is good to slow down and change. I so look forward to reading your post.
Thank you.
: )
p.s. your stones are fabulous!
i think this is just the right time in your life to immerse yourself in your art, poetry, prose and your family and world of friends .
I am so honored to be able to follow along for this amazing journey.
I would love to collaborate with you on a project this year.
lots of love
margie
Thank you for the lovely comments over at my blog-land! I love reading each and every of your posts, even if sometimes I'm a lurker and don't say anything. :D
Yay Pat! I look forward to the coming year here on your blog, and when there's time, looking back further at what you've already shared with us.
Lucky us to be here to witness your next phase. I always learn something from a visit to ZC, and I truly appreciate the insight and honesty you put into each post.
Pat - my goodness I had no idea you quit your job as an editor. Wow, you are in the midst of changes both inward and outward. What a journey! It feels in the last few months that you have a peacefulness about yourself and this journey. It comes across so beautifully in your words and in your latest creations. Cheering you on my friend, cheering you on!!
I just realized that my 2 year blogversary passed by 2 months ago. I also realized how much has happened in that span of time. It is nice to have a record of sorts!
I can't wait to see where the blog goes with the next 200 posts! Here's to bringing our art out of the margins of our lives . . .
I love your beautiful and personal "road", Pat. You have such a positive mind and wide-opened eyes that I'm sure that it will be a blooming way ! And as your other friends, I feel lucky to share this adventure with you :)
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