“Nobody whispers it in your ear. It is like something you memorized once and forgot. Now it comes back and rips away your breath. You find and finger a phrase at a time; you lay it down cautiously, as if with tongs, and wait suspended until the next one finds you.” ~Annie Dillard
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention, goal, or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. An intention as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
It’s Monday evening, and I’m writing this post from Indian Hill Music in Littleton, Mass., where my sons take music lessons. I love it here.
I’ve settled into a deep leather couch in the lobby, a bright, wood-beamed room ringed by practice rooms. From one room on my right, I can faintly hear the piano pieces my son has been working on all week. On my left, someone plucks the low strings of a standing bass, and from other rooms piano scales and the reedy hum of a saxophone stream out, slightly muffled. I’m so happy in this space, soaking in a sound soup that’s a lot like the pleasant cacophony of an orchestra tuning up.
The woman in the voice lesson directly behind me is working on a short passage, and after 12, 13, 14 tries, she hits the high note. It’s no longer a strained squeak, but a warm brilliant color arcing through the air and into my heart. I want to applaud. Or cry. Or something.
Actually, I know exactly what that something is. I want to go home and play the piano.
Every time I go to Indian Hill, I feel the itch to make music. I want to take cello lessons and bang on a drumset and sing really loud.
I was a band dork as an adolescent. I played in the concert band, the stage band, the pit orchestra, and, yes, the marching band. I had neither the natural talent nor the discipline for excellence, but I loved making music, on my own in a tiny little practice room or within a wall of sound high-stepping across a football field. Music was a joyful part of my daily life.
And then it wasn’t. Grad school and work and raising a family and adult responsibilities took up time and space. The love of making music never went away. Just the making part.
There’s a piano at home, a piano I walk by many times each day, a piano I sit at 5 days a week with my son while he practices.
A piano I dust more often than play.
But when I go home tonight, before I fire up the grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner, before I open my laptop, maybe even before I take off my coat, I’m making a beeline for that piano. I’ve been chiseling away at Mozart’s Sonata in C major for 3 years now, and while I’m not quite at the point that Benjamin Zander of the Boston Philarmonic calls “one buttock playing” (oh, that video is a goody, embedded below, I think you should watch it!), playing the first, nearly mastered page of that piece gives me such joy.
Whenever I play, I walk away from the piano calmer, happier, more energized, thinking, “Why don’t I do that every single day?”
Is there a source of potential joy that you’re walking by every day? A set of paints? A box of yarn? Woodworking tools? Notebooks and pens? Clay? A cookbook and exotic spices? That guitar you haven’t touched in years? Your sewing machine? The Garage Band app on your new iPad?
Maybe tonight, before you start chopping onions, before you open the mail, you could play a little. Or play a lot.
“You finally do have to give something terribly intimate and secret of yourself to the world and not care, because you have to believe that what you have to say is important enough.” ~May Sarton
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention, goal, or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. An intention as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
Normally the kids are like me, strong like ox, but a nasty bug has been making its way around the community and they are stricken like chicken. They’re on the mend but it’s been almost a week of being completely off our schedule and normal daily rhythm. Like, not even getting outside. Kale’s looking a little grey around the edges but his cough is unsettling so inside it is for a couple more days.
Though it’s weird to see my normally screen-free kids veg out in front of with that glazed ‘sicky’ stare, I decided to surrender to the novelty of it; letting them do nothing at all other than quiet activities and naps while I dove into my projects in my studio while stopping every few moments to warm up soup, make more tea, and assist with many, many tea pees.
I have to admit I fought it at first and was grumpy, a little anxious even and concerned about the effect of not doing anything would have on the kids. But then I heard the sultry voice of Danielle Laporte say how life balance is a myth. The essence of life is fluid so it’s only natural that shifts in what needs to be tended to will unabashedly morph constantly. The best thing to do is to see these as opportunities for growth and to reassess what is important and needed in the family right now.
In the meantime I made sure the kids were lubed up with lots of liquids and did implement the bare essential rhythms; mealtimes and bedtimes and our Smokey Sunday pancakes (whipping them up smokes up the whole house — just to explain). I surrendered to life that happens, was reminded of the balance myth (which was a catalyst for reviewing some major life decisions), and saw an opportunity to tend to my own needs at a pivotal time in my career while the children’s growing bodies took on the necessary challenge to strengthen.
Do you want to share your bare minimum rhythm you adhere to even in times of crisis, transition or upheaval? Perhaps a little ritual? Please share in the comments if you feel inspired.
::::
Editor’s Note: Kathy Stowell is a homeschooling, simplicity parenting mother of two small kids, and a hobby farmer’s wife who blogs and offers Backwoods Mama Sew Camps over at Bliss Beyond Naptime, from which the post above is generously cross-posted. Kathy recently released The Bliss Filled Mama: Self-Care for Soulful Mothering, an e-book and audio recording on proper crafty mama care.
“Regardless of where and how you show your creativity, the most important and rewarding thing is to let it flow. Insert creativity in all aspects of your life from how you dress in the morning to what you dream of at night. And remind yourself over and again that creativity is your birthright, a natural part of who you are: A living entity on this Earth.” ~Danny Gregory
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention, goal, or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. An intention as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
This is an obnoxious post where I ask you to vote for Studio Mothers in a decently high-profile popularity content. OK, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way:
Help! Please take a moment to vote for Studio Mothers at the Circle of Moms Top 25 Creative Blogs Contest. You can vote once every 24 hours, and you don’t need to supply your e-mail address or anything else in order to vote. Voting ends on March 15, 2012, at 4:00 pm PST. We’re at about #25 right now — every vote counts! Thanks! http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Creative-Moms-2012-2012
“I believe in guided spontaneity. For this, the poet must always have some reserves…of words, sounds, or images, the ones that buzz right past us like bees. They must be caught quickly and put away in one’s pocket.” ~Pablo Neruda
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention, goal, or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. An intention as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
In her terrific book The Joy Diet: 10 Practices for a Happier Life, life coach and well-being guru Martha Beck instructs readers to laugh on a daily basis. And not just a couple of guffaws; Beck prescribes a minimum of thirty laughs a day. Clicked off on a pocket counter, if necessary.
So, maybe I won’t ever be ready to join a laughter club, but I have to confess — I’m not laughing anywhere close to thirty times a day. It’s time to up the ante on the funny. And what do I find funny? My children’s antics. Monty Python. Anything John Cleese. Will Ferrell. Seinfeld, of course. The Daily Show. Stephen Colbert. William Shatner. Zach Galifianakis. Jack Black. Sometimes stand-up comedy can get me: Chris Rock, George Carlin, Lewis Black, Eddie Izzard. The Princess Bride. Airplane. Napoleon Dynamite. Writers often make me laugh out loud: Anne Lamott, Shirley Jackson, Armistead Maupin. Old (as in, from decades ago) Garfield comics. Without fail, every time I watch J-T and Andy Samberg’s Dick in a Box and Motherlover I can’t help myself. I should really watch those two every day.
In whatever form it comes, I definitely need to start laughing more. How about you? What makes you laugh?
“I can’t say enough about the connection between body and mind; when you stimulate your body, your brain comes alive in ways you can’t simulate in a sedentary position.” ~Twyla Tharp
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention, goal, or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. An intention as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
“Declare yourself to be a contribution.
Throw yourself into life as
someone who makes a difference,
accepting that you may not understand how or why.” ~Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is key.
So what are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention, goal, or a milestone to reach for — and plan that time in your calendar. An intention as simple as “I will be creative for 10 minutes every day” or “I will gesso three canvases on Wednesday” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post.
How many years pass while we wait for the “right” time to do something? Even after decades of adulthood, many of us still believe that one day — in the not too distant future — somehow, eventually, ideal circumstances will arrive at our doorstep. We’ll wake up one morning and say “Yes! It’s finally here! That day I’ve been waiting for, when my to-do list is all crossed off, my in-box is empty, the house is spotless, the kids are occupied elsewhere, and the time has come to do X!” If this day ever does come, it probably doesn’t amount to more than once or twice in an entire year. So why are we still waiting?
Eric Maisel, creativity guru (and one of my former teachers at the Creativity Coaching Association), is a proponent of “creating in the middle of things.” This framework is perhaps the only way to stop perpetually deferring ourselves with an imaginary carrot.
I have learned in recent years that I am ALWAYS in the middle of things. There is nothing BUT the middle of things. As someone who continually heaps mounds of responsibilities and projects onto her plate, if I wait for the seas to part and reveal some magical “opportunity” for me to create, I’ll die waiting.
I’ve finally learned to stop saying “I just need to get through this week/month/season.” In the well-worn words of John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” So long as I see daily life as some kind of obstacle between me and what I really want to be doing, I’m living in a very dark and unsatisfying place. How many moments have I wasted by trying to “just get through it” while staying focused on some mirage of future calm like a brilliantly wrapped gift, eternally beyond my reach? The present moment can’t be the obstacle. That’s insanity — and many of us seem to be afflicted.
I encourage myself, and you, to fully embrace the concept of creating in the middle of things — because for most of us, that’s the only way to create. Even my clients who have no children and no work obligations still find themselves with an overfull calendar and difficulty “making” time to create. In fact, one client who has no children or job says she can’t get her creative work done because her pets distract her too much. Regardless of our circumstances, we are always in the middle of something, aren’t we? It doesn’t matter what our details are.
If we have an overflowing, double-booked planner on one hand, and a paradigm of “I can only create if I have five hours of guaranteed solitude on deck” on the other, then we either need to get very serious about going to a cave every day, or we need to figure out how to change our parameters about what’s possible.
There are strategies that help. Always having a notepad on hand while out of the house. Knowing what the “next step” is in any given project so that we’re ready to jump right in. (See Emma-Jane’s wisdom at left for visual artists.) Staying connected to creative networks to bolster of creative sense of self. Keeping an ongoing list of all the projects we’d like to work on so that inspiration is always a glance away. If we have children, learning how to create WITH them (either alongside them or in collaboration). Allowing ourselves to make the most of creative practice even if we end up deviating from that “next step” plan. And most importantly, always keeping our eyes open for slivers of opportunity.
In Eric Maisel’s words: “If we intend to create we really should be checking in with ourselves several times a day (not a few times a week or a few times a month) with the question, ‘How about now?’ Sometimes we will answer no and sometimes we will answer yes, but if we answer yes only a quarter of the time and we are checking in with ourselves four times a day, then we will create every day. We should check in with ourselves as soon as we wake up, in case THAT is a good time, as soon as we get home from wherever, in case THAT is a good time, when an empty hour suddenly looms up in front of us, in case THAT is a good time, after dinner and before television, in case THAT is a good time, and so on.”
Are you checking with yourself?
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
~Napoleon Hill
This piece was reprinted from the last issue of the Creative Times, our monthly newsletter. Click here to subscribe!
Last week at Studio Mothers you met Kathy Stowell, the homeschooling, simplicity parenting mother of two little ones who blogs at Bliss Beyond Naptime. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know Kathy over the interwebs and on the phone. She is truly an authentic, deeply creative soul who is dedicated to a life of simplicity, creativity, and presence. I’m always inspired by women who are so clear about the path they want to follow — and walk the talk, with all its challenges and rewards.
Kathy recently released the e-book and audio recording The Bliss Filled Mama: Self-Care for Soulful Mothering. I’m delighted to offer a free copy of this magical resource (e-book AND audio file) to a Studio Mothers reader! Simply leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win. You have until 5:00 p.m. eastern time on Friday, February 17, 2012, to enter.
In The Bliss Filled Mama: Self-Care for Soulful Mothering, Kathy shares the strategies and practices that help pull her through the “delicate dance of being a loving, present mother who also has the time and energy to tend to her creative spirit and life calling.” These are the basic self-care approaches Kathy swears by that help make every day an opportunity to keep her needs front and center while “ensuring my genetic makeup flourishes, happily, for generations to come.” And because being a busy mama can make it tricky to sit down and read a whole e-book, Kathy recorded herself “whispering these sweet somethings into your ear.”
The Bliss Filled Mama offers over 10,000 words of insight into:
Kathy’s approach to optimum health
Simple yet saucy mama style
Ladies’ night ideas to maintain your precious friendships
Ways to garner your partner’s support in your bliss quest
Protecting your boundaries
Housekeeping; simplicity style
Exploring and pinpointing the joys in your life
Carving out pockets of time to indulge in these joys
Kathy’s own parenting philosophy that accommodates more mama bliss
If you aren’t the winner of the e-book/audio package, you can purchase it here for $14 USD.
Great to see you! Studio Mothers is the blog community of Miranda Hersey Creativity Coaching. Writer? Artist? Musician? Performer? You’re in the right place. While we primarily focus on the issues that creative mothers encounter, all are welcome.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
