It's not... it really is not!
There are many days when EVERYTHING inspires me and I'm buzzing with excitement at the ideas bouncing around in my head: I'll see a face in a tree; a dragon chasing a bird in the clouds; a strange alien/monster in the face of an insect; an animal or person in the blobby shaped patterns of my bathroom floor tiles or on wallpaper; a particular colour combo will start me thinking of a doll or critter I could make in those colours; I'll read a description of something in a book or hear a song lyric and it'll spark off a new character; the shape of the top of a carnivorous pitcher plant will make me think of a weird creature or eye shapes for a monster; the way pieces of fur fabric are sitting in one of my fabric bins will make me think of a pattern for a new critter... these are all things that have actually happened to me!
In some ways it's great as there are so many things I want to make that I am rarely stuck for inspiration, but in others it's downright bloody frustrating! I either run the risk of always starting new projects and never getting anything finished, or having to let some of those ideas just fade away as even writing down notes & trying to get them sketched out doesn't really capture the true idea I saw. BOTH of these options are equally frustrating! I would actually like to have more finished projects to show for all my efforts, instead of a steadily growing pile of WIPs as I leap into one project excitedly, only to be distracted a few hours/days/weeks later, before I've finished, by another wonderful idea that I just HAVE to try RIGHT NOW... before I lose track of it!
The frustration caused by this kicks in occasionally, and when it does, it's brutal! It starts a nasty downward spiral of depression that often means I just sit there staring at my various projects, or craft stashes, or numbly flicking through blogs/Pinterest etc, desperately hoping for even just a flicker of inspiration to help bring back at least the interest to pick up something & get working again. I love the buzz from the inspiration... but I hate how the overload of it all can completely kill my desire to do ANYTHING! On days like this, it's like I'm sitting in a tiny room with no windows or doors, and all the walls, ceiling, and floor are painted black. I can't see anything, there's nothing to spark off an idea, and there's no way out. At least that's how it FEELS at the time! Eventually, of course, something will manage to create that spark of interest again and I find my way back out of that little dark box... and back into the swirling, buzzing chaos of inspiration overload.
No... being a Creative is definitely NOT easy! It would be bad enough if there was only 1, or maybe even 2 creative things that I enjoyed... but no, it's made worse by my obsession and love of learning new things... new crafts, new techniques, new hobbies, etc. I currently knit, crochet, needlefelt, sew (toys only so far), spin, dye fibre/yarn, and am working on learning to sculpt with polymer clay. However, I also want to learn tatting (both with needle and shuttle), embroidery, how to sew my own clothes, stumpwork, beading, how to paint & draw, jewellery making, paper mache, wet felted paintings... etc! And this list is always being added to! SO MANY IDEAS... nowhere near enough hours in the day!
I also love wildlife/nature photography and gardening, which is a relatively new hobby, ok, addiction (I only started gardening late October 2015, but didn't start getting serious about it until a couple of months ago), so I need to also try and make regular time for them. I've learned that if I don't regularly "feed" these passions as well, things just don't feel right. Life feels off kilter and like there's a hole in it. Oh, and can't forget the family... they kind of need a bit of attention now and then too!
It all adds to the chaos, and it all means that being a Creative can be really, really, REALLY draining! And yet I honestly wouldn't have it any other way... despite the bad patches where it all just gets too overwhelming, too fast, too much, too crazy. Despite all that, I really do love being a Creative! That buzz I get when a new spark of inspiration hits me is addictive! It feeds me, makes me happy, keeps the child in me alive!
No... being a Creative is not easy, but I wouldn't want to be anything else!
