The Creative Calm

I've always been a creative person. I've been a dancer, actor, singer, artist, knitter and, well, a general fiber artisan. Every phase has brought me a kind of calm for a spell and then it would become work. I would often then move on to the next thing. Now, I still love all those things and would gladly return again should the opportunity present itself, but tatting has me in its grasp. It has become not only my calm but also my work. This dichotomy is at times more stress than I'd like, but yesterday, I found that calm again.

I sat down in the afternoon with no laundry or dishes to do. My foot prevented me from gathering and unpacking boxes so I had time to tat. I retreated to our 'guest' room, sat on the bed, looked out the window and started tatting. At first it was the familiar, 'I must get this done' feeling, but the rhythm set in, my mind began to drift and soon I was calm. I imagined new pieces, thought about all sorts of random things and was truly relaxed. When that set in I remembered why I really love to make things. Sure, designing is mentally satisfying and making a bit of money is sweet, but it is all about that feeling. That time that is just for me, but isn't wasted. It has been awhile since I got that feeling and I certainly missed it.

As I mentioned, new ideas are brewing, specifically new mask ideas. There were a few of them floating around and today I'm going to see whether any of them are practical. One has already been dismissed as far too big and not in a good way, but there are a few others to work on. I do still have a couple of pieces waiting for their photos to be listed, but...and go ahead and laugh here, I haven't dyed my hair in far too long to take a picture with myself in it. Perhaps this weekend, I'll get some bleach and color on there and then I'll feel better about getting a picture taken. So off to calming work I go.