So…being in school we are surrounded by stimuli on a daily basis, especially when involved in the arts. I was always presented with some knowledgeable insight on a new dynamic artist, or even that of a well-known and established artist. There were always new videos to watch on the processes of performance artists, or interviews of clay workers. Something was always circulating to keep you up to date, motivated, and inspired. Well…I am learning now that self-motivation is even harder than we all had anticipated, and no, there are never enough hours in the day.

Lately, being out of school, I’ve found that sometimes I feel as though I lose my creativity. When work and life start happening it almost seems like there is either not enough time for our art, or we are honestly just too tired to participate. It’s a really strange new thing to go through; to brainstorm how to get back to the point of attacking your art, always being eager to try and to research something new. Entering college, I told myself I would never be one of those teachers that loses sight of their own work; by no fault of their own of course, life just…happens. I have slipped in and out of that place where my creativity seems to be in hibernation. It is not necessarily a fun place to be, but I do feel it is completely necessary. After all, everything happens for a reason. But what do we do when our creativity decides to take a vacation? Immerse ourselves in research? Pick up a paint brush and go for a canvas at random? Maybe that is the answer, maybe it isn’t. I like to think that I am at a very “in between” point in my life where things are changing all at once and I need to just dive in.

Things are always going to be difficult, always changing, and always seemingly both scary and exciting. We need to exercise a certain give and take when it comes to these moments, however. We need to be brave enough to take the risk and try something new, or maybe just get back into a good habit, and we also need to somehow sit back and let life guide us to where we are going. Right now I am learning that though I may not feel like an artist or a teacher at this particular moment in time, my time of great successes are coming. I have always said inspiration is all around us, I am just waiting for the right sign.