011 When Life Interrupts Art

Creative breaks challenge us but can teach us valuable lessons about what truly matters in our artistic lives and personal wellbeing. Returning to creative work after time away feels like wearing an old familiar glove—initially awkward but ultimately comforting as we rediscover our creative voice.

• The mental tug-of-war between obligations and creative desires creates guilt and frustration
• Embrace the creative chaos of restarting rather than fighting against it
• Use transitions as opportunities to experiment with new tools and approaches
• Reconnect with your core values and recognize creativity's importance in your life
• Creative struggles reveal what matters to us and illuminate unexpected strengths

Chapters

• 0:05 Welcome to Pockets Podcast
• 0:17 The Challenge of Creative Breaks
• 1:21 Finding Small Creative Moments
• 3:32 Returning to Creative Work
• 4:44 Growth Through Creative Struggles
• 7:21 Episode Closing

Transcript

Richmond: 0:05

Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about finding joy, meaning and purpose in life's simplest moments. I'm Richmond Camero. Let's dive into today's journey. It's been a while, and what better way to get back than by discussing taking a break away from creative work For artists, I'm sure there will come a time that we need to pause whatever creative project we're doing. It might be other priorities, it might be work or studies, it might be health, or sometimes we just really need to take a break. No matter what it's formed, though, it's always a difficult time to navigate. In this episode, let's create a space for that. Let's process how to deal with breaks from creative work. For that, let's process how to deal with breaks from creative work.

Richmond: 1:09

The greatest struggle for me when I'm pulled away from creativity is the mental tug-of-war between what I need to do and what I want to do. For instance, my recent hiatus was mainly because of my studies. My time is dictated by the papers I need to submit and the reports I need to create. I usually do those after my day job or during the weekends, so essentially in my free time, I try to juggle doing my schoolwork and writing, but there's always the feeling of guilt and frustration. When I'm writing, I would feel guilty and a little panicked about spending my time, knowing I have looming deadlines. When it's the other way around, I would feel frustrated, knowing I would want to do art but I couldn't. It's an exhausting cycle.

Richmond: 2:01

During that period I paused and spent some time to reflect. I know how creativity was important to me and no matter how hectic my schedule was, no matter how difficult to balance things, spending time doing creative things would have a positive impact, despite the struggles. Art for me is nourishing. It's a way of how I explore my curiosities and a way to feel the struggles. Art for me is nourishing. It's a way of how I explore my curiosities and a way to fill the well. The lesson I learned this season is how important creativity really is to me. There is a need and longing to do that.

Richmond: 2:40

So I went back to the question what's the smallest thing that I could do? I started with journaling. It's the one with the least preparation and the least friction. I looked for journaling prompts and wrote Some days. I would revisit my current work in progress, a novel in the world of Ilustrados, and we write a few sentences in the draft, or I would add some points in the outline. It's minuscule compared to my ideal creative session, but it was better than nothing and whenever I did that, my day always got better. It helped me survive that period and it gave me something to look forward to, which leads me to where I am now, the moment where I have more time and I can get back to creating.

Richmond: 3:33

Returning to my creative space feels like wearing an old glove I owned. You know it's dusty and it smells musty, but it's a familiar sensation. It feels like you're starting again. It's awkward and you have to remind yourself how to do your craft. Then, once you remember how to do it, you realize that it's all inside of you. It just needs nudging and momentum and slowly it starts to feel fun, the sense of play and awe comes, the curiosity overruns the fear and you're back where you belong and it feels like we're coming back home.

Richmond: 4:18

I'm still in the process of doing this, but here are three things that you might find useful. First is to embrace the mess. Since I've returned, I'm still navigating how to have a consistent writing schedule, I still have to plan out what I need and want to do for the rest of the year, and I also still have to deal with real-life challenges, but I love this creative chaos. I think it's a creative endeavor in itself. It's like figuring out what puzzle pieces would fit. I am also taking stock of what I currently have on my plate digitally, physically and mentally. That includes manuscripts, my physical tools and my creative space. It's an artful chaos buzzing with energy.

Richmond: 5:10

Second is to take the opportunity to experiment and try new things. Yes, I have things to get back to, but at the same time, I also have the freedom to change a few things. It can be my schedule, it can be the tools I'm using, or it can be my creative process, or it can be my creative process. When I was in my busy period in my studies, I learned that I have the time and the stamina to do all those things, even though they were difficult. It showed me that I could potentially apply that in my creative workflow. Transitions are always a good time to build new habits, because your canvas is reset, so take this opportunity to tweak a few things.

Richmond: 5:54

Lastly, and I'd say the most important thing is to remember your core values. What's really important to you? As I mentioned earlier, what I realized is that creativity is deeply important to me. It's a need. It's the way for me to create a balance in my life. Losing my ability to create means tipping the balance, and it won't just affect the creative part of my life. It will also impact how I cope with other things. So with this restart, I'd like to remind myself to give the space that I need for the things that matter to me. My creativity is my anchor and I have to make sure that it's a part of my daily life.

Richmond: 6:43

Struggles in our creative journey such as this always tells us something about ourselves. It shows what matters to us, it challenges our ability to respond and it gives light to skills and traits that we might not know we have. So as you go through your own blocks and challenges, think of them as opportunities for growth. We might get sidetracked, we might need the time to stop, but once we go past that, the road ahead is wide open, brimming with endless possibilities. You've been with Pockets. Thank you so much for sharing this space with me. Now go, embrace the moments, build your pockets of meaning and keep curiosity as your guide.