Contained
I'm a sorter, a classifier, an organizer. I need objects and materials to be with like objects and materials, paper with paper, hole punches with hole punches, ribbon with ribbon.
Christmas decor tubs are separate from Valentine's Day decor tubs. Turkeys and Pilgrims do not share space with jack-o-lanterns and witches. Summer accents are red, white, and blue. Pastel items will never infiltrate our 4th of July focus.
I promise I'm not Type A nor am I OCD. I just tend to lose things if I haven't put them back in their place. I like my work area nice and clean in the beginning, and nice and clean at the end, but during the creative process, it can be as messy as it needs to be. I can build piles, drop things, and spread everything out. I can walk away and later return to the mix.
Visiting other crafters' blogs and websites, I've noticed a difference. Their creative processes spill, no... pour into everything, to include their physical and virtual spaces, while my adventures stay (relatively) neatly contained within the walls of my crafty nook and my blog template. Of course we've only lived in this home for a year and a half, so it hasn't nearly had the time to be at the whim of whatever mood inspiration has lit within me. I update my blog space only once or twice a year. My professional life has its own agenda and responsibilities that completely separate me from my creative space as the school year ebbs and flows, which is perhaps why I often feel like part of myself has been put on hold, the pause button pressed the moment I walk through the door of my crafty nook to tend to the rest of my life. I often wonder what it would be like to fill my days with a different kind of learning and sharing, less dictated by politics and the veiled abuses that we allow education "reform" to inflict upon our children. Harsh reality makes me long for a more beautiful one.
Compromise and containment. I love glitter and so do my students. I love creative projects and learning new techniques. So do my students. But public school classrooms aren't really about freedom, and my crafty nook, though in order, isn't about limitations. And here I'm torn.
I'd enjoy hearing from other people who have been or are in a similar situation: part time crafters with full time creative souls. Do you feel the need to try to balance your interests and inclinations with the daily grind or do you have another solution?
Deep thoughts on a Sunday.
Michaele
Christmas decor tubs are separate from Valentine's Day decor tubs. Turkeys and Pilgrims do not share space with jack-o-lanterns and witches. Summer accents are red, white, and blue. Pastel items will never infiltrate our 4th of July focus.
I promise I'm not Type A nor am I OCD. I just tend to lose things if I haven't put them back in their place. I like my work area nice and clean in the beginning, and nice and clean at the end, but during the creative process, it can be as messy as it needs to be. I can build piles, drop things, and spread everything out. I can walk away and later return to the mix.
Visiting other crafters' blogs and websites, I've noticed a difference. Their creative processes spill, no... pour into everything, to include their physical and virtual spaces, while my adventures stay (relatively) neatly contained within the walls of my crafty nook and my blog template. Of course we've only lived in this home for a year and a half, so it hasn't nearly had the time to be at the whim of whatever mood inspiration has lit within me. I update my blog space only once or twice a year. My professional life has its own agenda and responsibilities that completely separate me from my creative space as the school year ebbs and flows, which is perhaps why I often feel like part of myself has been put on hold, the pause button pressed the moment I walk through the door of my crafty nook to tend to the rest of my life. I often wonder what it would be like to fill my days with a different kind of learning and sharing, less dictated by politics and the veiled abuses that we allow education "reform" to inflict upon our children. Harsh reality makes me long for a more beautiful one.
Compromise and containment. I love glitter and so do my students. I love creative projects and learning new techniques. So do my students. But public school classrooms aren't really about freedom, and my crafty nook, though in order, isn't about limitations. And here I'm torn.
I'd enjoy hearing from other people who have been or are in a similar situation: part time crafters with full time creative souls. Do you feel the need to try to balance your interests and inclinations with the daily grind or do you have another solution?
Deep thoughts on a Sunday.
Michaele
I wish I had a solution to that. When I am asked why I don't craft full-time, I respond that crafting doesn't have insurance or a 401k. But I hate feeling like I never have enough time to work deeply and all the way through something. Many times I limit myself to quick and easy pretty things, when I would love to immerse myself for days on end.
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