Explore the blog for tips on creative living, glimpses into my creative process, and design resources for creatives + business owners.
A Season of Exploration: Making Room in Life + Business
I’m not one of those people with post-it note mantras on my bathroom mirror to see and repeat each day (and I love you if you are!), but if I were, mine would say THIS IS A SEASON. I recognized it and found it as a new parent—the baby stage in particular with the seemingly endless nights contrasted by the days that pass in a blink—but I’ve since taken it beyond that realm and found it true for everything else. As humans, we are not in solid states; instead we are ever evolving, growing, learning. Learning for me is a state of being; I’m always drawn to new skills and techniques for creating, and am equally interested in learning facts in some other medium or discipline.
More Than Your Leftovers
It's not so uncommon in our busy world to feel stretched thin. We lean into the good—time with our families, an interesting hobby, a peaceful walk—and we lean into the taxing too—the busy, the obligation, the favor. As a work-from-home parent I'm constantly inhabiting multiple roles (and aren't we all?), and as my son just recently turned two, I found myself trying to recall who I was when I wasn't tending to my family and my business.
My aunt, a mother of two grown children and lifelong entrepreneur with multiple thriving businesses, recently sent me a note to say she remembered this season of life well. She talked of giving so much to her family, and to her business growth. She said if she had to do it over again, she would take more time for herself, and not just leave herself with the leftovers.
Finding Joy in Constraint: 3 Tips for Flourishing Creatively Amidst a Busy Life
If I hadn't already experienced the benefits of constraint in my practices of writing and art-making, I would have still had to confront the necessity of constraints in creative practice as a parent. Constraints of time and ability to do certain things are a given as a new parent. You have someone (or several someones) who needs you around the clock and they don't follow any rhythm but theirs. They communicate sheer need in a language all their own and you only option is to respond.