Finding a Way Out, or In

I'm feeling pensive today and reflecting on my life as it stands has given me some thoughts on creativity and the daily grind.

Not everyone is able to do what they love for a job. Okay, let's be real. Most of us aren't able to do that. I did for a few years. I thought theatre was my one true love and calling. Out of university I was able to secure employment at a professional theatre company and then at a professional opera company. I even moved to New Zealand to do an internship at a theatre company. I thought I was supposed to be working in theatre. I loved each of those jobs, but knew I wasn't going to make it a full-time thing. I just couldn't do it.

After theatre, I thought teaching was my calling. I taught in South Korea, the US and New Zealand for the better part of a decade. Convinced of my calling, I went back to school and gained a masters degree in teaching.

So what am I doing now? I bake part-time at a coffee shop.

Yep, that's right. I am employed to do a job that I need no previous experience or qualifications for. What led me to this job is the need for some sort of employment that doesn't require me to bring the job home. My personal life and the struggles we have led to me to leave education and find something that lets me leave the job at the end of the day.

So what does this have to do with a creative life?

These thoughts have come up because of a struggle I'm having with my husband at the moment. I am part of a team that organizes and runs a fringe theatre festival in my new hometown in NZ and as we get closer to the opening day, the stress gets higher. There are more demands of me this year as opposed to last year's festival and my husband is around now to see those demands and stresses. When he was on the night shift, he didn't see all that I was doing and now that he's on day shift, well...you get the idea. He doesn't want me out of the house as much and feels like I'm taking too much on. It is a lot, and it is stressful, but when I stopped being involved in theatre, I felt sad and missed it (a little bit).

My best friend does theatre as a professional and her life is hard. So hard and I couldn't do what she does. She is amazing and has chosen to stay in a theatre life while I have chosen to step away. But I still like to dip my toe in that water. The fringe festival is that water I wade in. Once a year, I am part of a group that brings an entire theatre festival to life and it's a huge accomplishment and I am SOOOOO proud of what I do with it. My husband doesn't quite get it.

The best friend said that it's important to me to still feel and use the training I have in some way. This festival is that outlet for me. It's exhausting since it starts up in January and by April, it's in full-gear. But after that one week in May? It's done and I'm back to my quiet life for the rest of the year.

So I am content with my day job and do what I need to do get paid for that, that is not my passion. I have had to find ways into myself to satisfy those creative urgings and feel like I am contributing something to the universe besides muffins and cookies. I know I won't be baking the rest of my life, and if my current resume is any indication, I'll likely be doing something else in a year or so, but I have worked hard to find outlets for my creativity and can proudly stand behind those things I do and claim them as my own.

So don't get disheartened by the day-to-day grind of a seemingly menial job, most of us don't have the luxury of working with our passion for a living. We just have to find a way out for our creativity, or a way in to our soul to remember why we are special.

My own creation: wood burning on Himalayan Cedar.

Finished Back Porch Photos

Here's a few pictures I snapped of our *finished back porch. So it's not 100% done, but it's about 95% done. Close enough, right?

Looking out to the back door. New paint, new lighting, sealed wood.

The woodbox below the beer crates (still working on a better location for those!)

My laundry got a paint job too. And new shelves!

My personal artwork contribution.

Painted preserves cupboards...all ready for the harvest!

An example of the work Jeff did...he made all the skirting/baseboards.

I love it. 

So it's still a little rough around the edges sure, but it's so much better than what it was. The last big part of the reno is the back door into the kitchen. We're planning on turning it into a bi-fold door on a track. There's a reason for it, but I'll be able to explain it better when we start working on that part and I take pictures. Let's just say a nearly 100 year old house has it's quirks. Especially since it was built before indoor plumbing was standard in New Zealand.

What have you been creating in your home? I'd love to see!

Reno on the Cheap

Seeing as we own our home and it's nearly 100 years old (4 years to go before that point!), there are a lot of quirks in the house that need to be addressed. It's never been properly renovated apart from carpeting being put in back in the 70s or 80s and being repainted multiple times inside. When I first moved in with my husband, we had an interesting arrangement for the toilet.

 We had to go outside to get to it.

 Yep, our house had a toilet added onto it at some point in the past and when they did that, they didn't close in the space.

The existing back door led to a lean to with a laundry and toilet attached to it. Not a problem in the summer. BIG problem in the winter. Because who wants to go outside in freezing weather to get to the toilet? On cold concrete to boot.

 Jeff had bought lumber a few years back to make a back door for the lean to, thus closing it in. So not long after we moved in together, we started on this project. We did it as cheaply as we could, because we simply don't have money for major renovations. Three years on, it is nearly done. But I'll let the pictures tell the story now.

In the next post, I'll put up reveal shots. We redid the toilet walls, created a pocket door, painted and varnished everything, laid flooring on top of the concrete, built shelves for the laundry room, painted that, created artwork for the laundry and hired an electrician to put in better lighting and switches. So much work was done and I just love the outcome. So does Jeff.

Making a Fresh Start

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut. Ok, well more than just sometimes. It's easy though.

You go through each day, doing what you have to do, forgetting to enjoy things in life.

Next thing you know, you're staring down the last two or three years behind you and wondering what happened. That's where I am.

It's so easy for me to get stuck in a rut. To forget all the wonderful things happening all around me. To focus only on the parts of my life that are a mess. So here I am. Starting over. Creating something that is all about the creative things in my life I have built in New Zealand.

Welcome.

I hope I can help you stay out of your own rut.

Nah, that's really ambitious of me. I hope you can appreciate what I am doing here and in turn, see the creative wonder that is around you. Because whether you sew, bake, garden, build, paint or arrange books on a shelf, you are a creative person too. So pay attention and remember that it's not all about the 9 to 5 (or the 5am-1pm in my case). Enjoy!