Dream Big, Create Small

by Andrea

I became a mother over 14 years ago. During my first pregnancy, my creative expression morphed from teenage angst to things directly related to becoming a mother. My virtually unlimited time and exploration of artistic mediums gave way to working self-expression into my day-to-day life. With my limited income and space, basic scrapbooking and embellished photo albums became myprimary focus, as well as crocheted baby blankets.

My work was never as beautiful as I planned it to be, but it fulfilled my desire to create and provided the outlet I needed. As my daughter grew, my projects were limited by space constraints, but more importantly by time. As a single parent and engineering student, I had little energy for artistic endeavors. At night, when I was too exhausted to do anything else, I would weave amazing dreams of the paintings, novels and quilts I would someday create. By day, I found my outlets in crayon drawings and play-doh sculptures.

I used my creativity to nourish that of my daughter. After college, I received a sewing machine as a gift. Once again, I found myself making plans much larger than I could ever execute, but the process of sewing for my daughter’s dolls proved relaxing. I still have patterns and fabrics from that time waiting to be sewn! I started sewing tote bags and working on a design for carrying groceries. Much of my creative time was spent thinking and analyzing, as I could do both during my commute, shower or while at the office. Relatively few of my creations were actually tangible, but dreaming provided the necessary fuel for coping with the challenges of my life.

The past seven years have seen the addition of an amazing husband and three beautiful children to my life. The ideas are always there, bubbling below the surface, but my responsibilities as an at-home mother of four limit their expression. I now choose between free time and sleep! I’ve developed a love of photography and I almost always have a camera in hand to chronicle the lives of my children. Trying new recipes and creating my own dishes is also an invaluable outlet.

My oldest jokes that I never cook the same thing twice!

These days, I do most of my creating late at night or on the weekends when my husband is home. I have yet to create a full-size quilt, write a chapter in a novel or finish the full-size afghan I started three years ago, but I’ve started my own business and regularly sew to get my creative “fix.” As my children grow, I’m teaching them to sew and encouraging their art. One wall of my office is devoted to their handiwork. Gazing at it from time to time encourages me to keep imagining the magnificent creations I will make when they are older, while I diligently work on the small projects that keep me grounded in the here and now.

Copyright 2008 by Andrea Quenneville. All rights reserved.http://thoughtsfrommsq.blogspot.com/ or http://icraft.ca/msq

Like this post? Subscribe and never miss a spark!