Creative Space
Creative Space
When we moved into our house there was a small room right off the garage that we designated to be the “office” since Martin worked from home a lot. At the time I was newly retired and just finding my way in a new state and aside from mailing out a bill or two I really did not require a designated workspace. As time moved on, I took some online classes and would use “the office” more often, you know where I am going with this one. Slowly but surely, it was no longer “the office” and became Martin’s office. I took a hint and found myself a real comfy place to work, the kitchen table.
The kitchen table had the best view of the back yard; in the summer, the butterflies and rabbits were such a beautiful sight. I was good, I could see the television and the snacks were accessible. There was just one problem it seemed like I could not get cranking in the creativity department until late in the afternoon, so by the time I was in the creative zone Martin would come home from work and the table was full of books, journals, snacks, laptop, and iPad. Martin never complained but I knew it had to look crazy to walk into every day.
The builder by law had to leave one room in the basement unfinished, we toyed with the idea of making a mini movie theater, but we knew it would not get much use, so the room sat empty for a year. One night my Mom and sister were hanging out with me in Maryland and at the time I was preparing to host a Women’s Retreat. Out of nowhere my sister said “Lisa I see women coming to you for guidance and you are going to need a closed space. In the next moment Martin walked in and said take the unfinished room and make it your office. I was so excited I called someone in for a quote with a swiftness, the room was completed within two weeks, it was a vibrant orange my favorite color, I found some great furniture online and there you have it Lisa had her own office. Problem solved right? Wrong, for whatever reason maybe the lack of windows and natural light I found it so hard to write or study in that space. I could not create in that space and it was simply crazy to me.
One afternoon my Mom was relaxing on the chaise lounge near the fireplace and I did not want to be far from her, so I set up at the kitchen table and without any hesitation I began to write and create something I wanted to share with the ladies at the retreat. I mentioned to my Mom that I just could not create in the basement and with the simplest statement backed by wisdom she said, “Lisa the walls close your thoughts in, there are no windows, you can create here because this an open space and your mind is free to flow.”
In that moment I realized I was so caught up in having an office and a designated space that I really did not need. I needed to find the right creative space regardless to the structure, I was confining my thoughts and wasting a lot of time and energy. So, let me make you laugh, I will write anywhere on anything. I have blogs in the notes of my iPhone, if a piece of mail is laying on the kitchen table and I feel inspired I will scribble on it in the middle of baking a cake. I will see something that inspires me in the supermarket and hold up the aisle trying to get part of my thought out. A creative space is anywhere you feel inspired, artistic, or innovative. The picture attached to this blog was captured from across the room by my husband, I was doing admin stuff for my page snuggled under my favorite blanket in my favorite spot, it was the spot that inspired me in that moment, my new mantra.
