Holding Pattern

So, I haven't been doing much crafting lately, and I feel mildly guilty, but I won't ride myself too much.  My efforts have been going to a good cause - mainly helping my Mother in Law with some spring cleaning (fall cleaning, whatever!)  This has been inspiring in an organization/family love sort of way, but doesn't' leave me much energy for creativity.

And that's ok.  It'll come back, it always does.  In my Callow Youth (tm), I used to despair every time I stalled on a necklace design, or a poem draft, or whatever.  And I'd beat myself up!  Goodness, what a waste of energy.

But now I've learned.  Some things go (brief flirtations with collage, papercraft) but many things remain (beading, multimedia pieces, writing).  There's no reason to stress over fallow periods.  Letting a field rest after a harvest is important - you can't wear out the dirt and water and dear little wormies by planting constantly.  Sometimes you have to let it be.

Besides, as important as getting a project done is, the journey is equally powerful.  When I take time off from crafting, or blogging, or whatever, I travel around and come back with amazing treasures to put back into my craft.  I feel like Calvino's Marco Polo, reclining with Kublai Khan, watching sinuous strands of smoke rising into the dusky evening - I don't transplant fallow-time experiences and impressions so much as I translate them.  Some nuances are lost, like the exact sound of rolling ocean waves, or the sizzle of plantains as Husband's cooking - but more are discovered.

The colors, the textures - these are things that come out in whatever I'm making, no matter how small.  Even if it's only a small pair of earrings, perhaps the color of the beads, or the sheen of glass, reminds me of a particular time and place.  Maybe an amber color bead was the sunset on my street.  Maybe a seashell was the feel of sand under my fingers on my honeymoon.  Sometimes the movement of an element is a friend's laughter over wine. 

The journeys of creativity never really finish - the road never ends.  And once more, I'm compelled to include a certain musician and the end of this post!

Loreena McKennitt: Amhran Duit   http://youtu.be/a-TWihu1bEM