Finding your inner artist

How long did it take you to decompress from work and adjust to being retired? Right from the get-go, I was happy to be done with my job and thought that meant I had adjusted, but I was wrong. Just read through some of my old posts, and you can see how my thinking has evolved.

Work? Not work? Who am I without a job? Who was I with a job? What’s my purpose? Is there a second act? Do we have to reinvent ourselves? Aren’t we pretty OK already?

Life’s eternal questions. I kind of stopped thinking about them and focused on what made me feel good and what made me happy. Amazingly, my creative juices are flowing. I’ve been feeling artistic!

While writing is an art, I’ve never been otherwise inclined to pursue artistic activities. My crafty quilting sister got those genes. If I needed help with a Halloween costume or gift packaging, she would take my emergency phone calls from Michaels, where I panic. Seriously, what is all this stuff?

And in minutes, she’d talk me off the ledge. She’s the Michaels Whisperer, “OK, stand with your back facing the door. Go three aisles down and turn right. Look up. No, not that way. 3 o’clock. Bend your knees slightly and reach out in front of you. Pick up the tube on the left. Glitter glue.”

So, where to start? I took this quiz, and it said I am destined to be a print maker. I got a book from the library, and making prints looks hard. Actually, everything looks hard.

I’m calling in all my lifelines for help deciding how I will scratch this itch. I have virtually no experience making art, unless you count a ceramic ashtray I made in grade school and cookies decorated with royal icing. My friend, Carole, who is an artist, recommended decoupage. I went to the library and got a book on decoupage. Looks doable.

My sister warned me I need to be patient. Immediate results are not to be expected. Like I need to be warned about patience! I don’t have time for such nonsense! We’ll be talking this weekend, when she will share other important sisterly advice.

I’ve been thinking about what might come naturally pursuant to my interests. I like things with function. Surfaces like wood, glass, ceramic and tin. I like kitchen stuff. I’ve been doodling spirals since I was a kid. I see more spirals in my future.

It’s exciting to think about getting started in art, but it’s even more exciting to think my brain is finally in this place. This is year two of retirement, but my first full year. I’m decompressing from my work life and embracing my creative urges. Urges I didn’t even know I had.

Are you an artist? Or have you found a new creative side of yourself in retirement? How’s it going?

As for other creative urges, Dale and I are embarking on a journey this weekend to make tamales from scratch. You know there will be a story.

12 thoughts on “Finding your inner artist”

  1. You like spirals? My favorite toy as a kid was this thing called a spirograph. It has plastic internal and external gears with holes for colorful pens and it draws all kinds of crazy spirals. I saw on not too long ago at a store and had fond memories .

    1. I had a spirograph!!! Must be when it got started. I wasted a lot of paper in Sunnyvale doodling spirals.

      1. I checked out Amazon and there are many variations of Spirographs available. There is even a 50 year anniversary edition. That should show us something.

  2. Hi Donna. I haven’t been around much lately but I do hear what you are saying. When my job ended I decided right there and then that I was going to take 5 years and build my own artisan business. It has been quite the journey but I’m almost there. I was into so many crafts at one time that I found it hard to narrow down what I absolutely loved but I’m there. I now call myself a fiber artist specialist Keep trying new thins until something actually clicks. You’ll know it when it happens. It’s one of those light bulb moments. Just remember it should be fun, interesting, and give a feeling of accomplishment at the end. Good luck.

    1. Your comments found its way to a spam folder, which I just found. I’m sorry about that. Thanks for the great advice. My sister calls herself a fabric artist, but fiber might be more applicable. I’m still experimenting with my little art project. Not going well so far, but I’m not quitting!

  4. I have been intrigued to learn pottery; maybe you would like that too. It has beauty and function. My creative side is gardening and writing. Oh, and it took me 15 seconds to decompress from retirement as a librarian ten years ago.

    1. Pottery might be a good option. I found an art center not too far from my house that is offering some free classes. I signed up for a two-day class on how to make clay masks! I thought some sort of structured approach might get me started. And congrats on the 15-second transition. That’s impressive.

    1. Hi there! Your comments got stuck in a spam folder, which I just found. Sorry about that! You story is well worth reading.

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