I think about it often, but how do I bring creativity into the mundane – imbue all the little moments with joy, fascination, translate all the creative energy that doesn’t find a home in my artistic practice? In that same manner, can I expand my creative practice to include these actions? What constitutes the limits of that practice and how much can it overflow?

Lately I’ve been grappling a lot with these questions as time solely to focus on making art grows slimmer and slimmer. With my husband back to work full time out of the house and a lack of close family or friends to help with childcare on odd days or weekends, I’ve had increasing trouble keeping up with planned projects for the autumn. Like many, I find myself balancing raising my kids, homeschooling, household duties, and an ever increasing todo list – the progress I had hoped this season would bring my creative practice feels nonexistent.

So the past few weeks as my youngest has been up fussing with getting new teeth most nights I’ve taken a step back to really analyze – how do I boost my creative practice in this time of slowness? Regain balance? How do I feel fulfilled creatively when my priorities need to shift?

In the past I’ve taken to working at night or getting up before my babies to get the work needed done. This season, that tactic hasn’t been working – too much change, a move, and uncertainties have thrown my systems out of wack and I’m working hard to respect my bodies need for slowness.

Expanding the canon of what I allow to fulfill me creatively has helped immensely. It also, funny enough, has given me space to realign my creative practice in a way that feels sustainable amidst everything else that happens daily. I’ve allowed cooking, movement, conversation, and most notably play to begin to inform my works and how I think about them. Increasingly, I’ve had my older child express interest in what I’m working on and including her has been such a joy. It allows me to fall into a pattern of creating within the chaos and letting go of ideals in exchange for a creative process that comes naturally. I’ve stopped worrying about the finality of work and had the chance to embrace the process. Rarely, for me, is that process linear – instead it is a stunning result of days spent intentionally slowing down, finding enjoyment in the everyday – playing, imagining, cooking dinners from scratch because food brings me joy, and engaging with my family. It is a process of letting go of my own expectations.

Truthfully, this isn’t always the easiest thing. I used to place a lot of emphasis on productivity and stepping back from that mindset is a process. Sometimes I still find myself missing patterns that allowed for a more direct art making practice and sometimes I crave time to indulge and focus solely on creating without interruption. Sometimes I am frustrated by the lack of progress on tangible work or not meeting my own expectations. However, these feelings are more and more giving way to a genuine enjoyment of everyday life without the constant need for output. They are fostering critical thinking on my part about how capitalism and the productivity mindsets that come with it are at work in my life. I am rethinking how I would like my art to exist in the world.

There is validity in embracing the everyday as a creative venture.