Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Creative Wasteland

In my life post-career (can you call 3 years of grad school and 2 years of work a career?), I have been mostly a stay-at-home mom. About 8 years ago I discovered art rubber stamping and realized that I really craved a creative outlet. 5 years ago, I joined Stampin' Up as a demonstrator, and immediately had a drop in output. I mostly was stamping in preparation for workshops or other demo activities. So this fall, I quit. I wasn't making money, as I spent it far faster than I earned it, and the push-pull of trying to balance growing my business and feeling like a creative person reached a head.

So now that I've quit, I've been crafting up a storm, right? I have this beautiful room for all my stuff now, not in the basement, right? Well, not so much. Almost every day, I think, "I should go in my crafting room and make something." If I make it in there, I'm sucked in by the computer and the lure of the Internet. I still shop like I'm creating, I have a TON of stuff, and sometimes I think that's part of the problem. I don't know where to start. There's such a disorganized mess in here, it's unpleasant to be in, and I feel like I should clean up before I do something.

But I keep thinking about it, and making baby steps back to it, and sometimes I think my general lack of motivation is a symptom, not a cause, and if I can get over that hump, all will be well. We'll see.

3 comments:

Susan Z said...

I always find that I either have to 1) jump in and just do it, or 2) cleaning and organizing reminds me of what I have and gives me ideas.

Jill in MA said...

So how did that day of cleaning and organizing your office go? I was hoping you'd be successful and then I would feel hopeful that I could do it too!

Lisa C said...

Might I suggest moving the computer out of the room at least for a little while? I say that because I have the same problem. I'm much more productive on quilt retreats and at other people's houses because I"m more focused. At home, my computer is in my sewing room and it's a distraction. I am very glad my quilt frame for my business is in a different room. I pop on my IPod and I get a lot done. If the computer was in that room, I'd never get anything done. :( Not saying that you can't get stuff done, but like right now I'm here and I'm half done zigzagging new fabric that needs washing!