Refilling the Well, creative seasons

Seems I'm a bit backblogged this week! I've been busy with design and family visiting from the the Pacific Northwest, and appointments...sheesh. Sometimes I enjoy the social interruptions but when I over-schedule them I start to get crabby due to lack of creative time to myself. I know it's bad, but acknowlegdement is the first step on the road to recovery! :) (Seriously though, at my age change isn't likely!)

So, disclaimer out of the way now on to Thursday's,  I mean today's blog! Todays blog is about renewal and refilling the well. As much as I complain and get irritable when I'm interrupted, I do realize that it is essential to my creative growth and expression in irreplaceable ways.  I tend to work in a vacuum, meaning absolute total seclusion, and while that allows me to crank out a lot of work, it also drains the creative juices that fuel my creativity. So it's good and necessary to interact with the world to keep current and not become repetitive and stagnant in my design style.

The life cycle of creativity for me, is much like the seasons. While it appears that winter is the death of everything, it is actually that much needed respite from all the activity and creation we enjoyed over the spring, summer, and fall. Winter is Mother Nature's version of hibernation and it seems that we all fall prey to it. Especially in New England where the weather is cold, blustery and brutal. We tend to hole up for the long winter months and by now start to loudly voice our need for spring! This is exactly the cycle that I go through with design. I'm ready for spring. I've had my month long nap and now I'm charged up to start an explosion of color and pattern on the page. Although it's still officially winter, in my design cycle it's most definitely spring. And in the outside world signs of spring are starting to peek through too. It's been a long cold winter and this past week was full of time spent out and about, enjoying the 40 degree days, loving seeing the sun and spending time laughing and chatting with family and friends. It's been like a flower blooming through a blanket of snow.

I have come to the conclusion that we all need a little winter to fully enjoy the vibrant color and activity that comes with spring. Winter clears your palette. Winter give us time to reconnect, to refill the well, and soon, the little seeds that you've planted take root and sprout, and if you make the time to watch, they might just magically bloom right before your eyes...