The creative munchies

I just got back from vacation. I packed a travel art kit that I hauled all the way to the Outer Banks but we were so busy sightseeing that I didn’t open it even once. I barely even crocheted on this trip and that was mostly in the car.

I used to think taking a break for a week would result in never starting any creative work again. I guess I thought the habit would break and not bend. But I’ve learned to enjoy time away from the studio because I know that it will result in me getting the creative munchies.

Art snacks

The creative munchies are what I call the need to create when I’ve been away from it for a while. I want to START ALL THE THINGS! and dive into new projects. Maybe I’ll finish old things? I make lists. Then look at my saved Instagram images for creative threads to chase. I take a look at my yearly goals list and see if there’s something there I want to focus on.

It’s a kind of creative overdrive that when I first encountered it, I frankly didn’t enjoy it. It made me feel itchy and like I didn’t know where to start or exactly how to channel it. It still feels that way but at least I know what it is and I’ve learned to direct it a bit better now.

So that’s how I came back from this trip. Energized in a way I haven’t been in a long while. Looking around for things to work on and pursue. So of course I have a ton of house/kid/health responsibilities to take care of this week because that’s how that always goes. I’ll be trying to cram all of that exciting energy into 30 minute blocks scattered throughout the week. Art Snacks, if you will.

Smorgasblog

Along with that creative drive, I wanted to write for the blog again. So you get this post. I said I was taking the summer off and almost immediately I missed writing here. I missed organizing my thoughts. I missed putting something new out. I missed interacting with you and hearing your takes.

And good news! It’s my blog and I’m a grown-ass adult so I get to break my own rules! There are so few areas in our lives where we get to do whatever we want so we just have to relish those opportunities when they present themselves. So I don’t think I’ll be back to weekly posting but I will be dipping in and out for the rest of the summer.

Playing with my art

My biggest take away from my week away is that I want my creative time to be fun again. I’ve felt a lot of personal expectations to make “real” art recently and it’s made me want to rebel and basically do nothing but sit on my couch and read romance novels. I get so wrapped up in those expectations that I forget to have fun and make a mess.

I have to undo some of my own self talk here and just go back to playing without expectations. It’s so much easier to type than to execute. But with my time limitations this week, I think it might work better than I imagine. It’s hard to get too precious where there’s only 30 minutes to bang out some tunes or make sausages or art or whatever.

What about you? Do you ever get the creative munchies? Do you play enough to satisfy your artistic cravings? As always, I want to hear how it works for you. Catch up with me on socials, email me, or go oldschool and leave a comment on this post to be immortalized for all of time.