Hey friends, It’s been a while, hasn’t it? A lot has happened in the world in the past couple years, my architecture job has kept me busy during the days, Instagram has kept me addicted to its squares and scrolling, and to be perfectly honest I have been trying to learn the value of not oversharing on the internet – a lesson in boundaries that most of us millennials have had to learn how to navigate as we’ve grown along with the internet. That being said, I would love to share a snippet of the things I’ve been working on in my free time.
In order to keep things topical and somewhat organized I will share them as individual posts, and post the links here:
- Commissioned illustrations (click here)
- Sewing/Quilting (click here)
- Drawings for fun (click here)
- Documenting previous work (click here)
- Writing/D&D storytelling (a side story)
- Books I have read (click here)
If you decide to check any of these out I’d love to hear what you think in the comments! Overall, it has been nice to have a variety of projects to work on and to balance the fluidity, flexibility, and experimentation of these things with the more structured 9-5 lifestyle I’ve been living the past couple years.
What have you all been up to? What has brought you joy, solace, sustenance, or comfort these past years? How have you grown or changed? What parts of yourself have you returned to?
Creating, like always, has been a good force in my life. I have done my usual bouncing around between media, incorporating illustration, sewing, writing, pottery, and even a little collage into my making practice. Sometimes I give myself a hard time for this seemingly unfocused wandering between projects, but I’m coming to realize and accept that there is so much to be gained from this freedom. Sometimes my brain is just not in the space to write, sometimes my hands tire of holding a pencil, sometimes my heart needs a break from ‘producing’ altogether and I find it better to read. But having something else to work on and giving myself the freedom to switch when I need to keeps the creative juices flowing, even if it means I do a lot of circling back to finish things I put down midway through. There’s something to be said about this process, about allowing ourselves to take breaks instead of always just ‘pushing through.’ I’ve found that often when I pick things up weeks, months, or even years later I have usually gained perspective, inspiration, and skills I didn’t have at the time and it allows me to take the project a direction I wouldn’t have dreamed of (or been capable of) taking it when I hit pause.
This bag, for example, was one I started a decade ago using my mom’s sewing machine and some old clothes. It had been sitting unfinished in my pile of fabric (still pinned in places) and it had moved with me from apartment to apartment over the years. I finally pulled it out recently and decided to finish it. In doing so I realized that some of the skills I have now made the process so much easier and less frustrating than it would have been if I had rushed to finish it previously. And I honestly think waiting kept me from completely ruining it all those years ago. It ended up being a really fun collaboration between my current self and my high school self!
What’s next? I have been considering many things, in many aspects of my life. For the trajectory of my art and illustrations, I have been thinking about moving my store from Etsy to my website, I have been considering starting a Patreon and/or the possibility of trying to get a table at upcoming arts/crafts fairs. I think there could be value in publishing a new version of my book with my updated last name. I’ve been considering writing new books, dipping my toe in genres other than children’s literature. I’ve thought about taking another ceramics class from a local arts center and getting back into making pottery. On the total flip side, I’ve also been considering taking the plunge and actually getting my architecture license, which would be a pretty sizable time commitment and I’m worried would keep me from having time to pursue my hobbies, but could be a good way to advance my career.
Honestly though, I’m not sure how much of this will actually happen. I’m not sure if you all feel this way too, but it seems there’s never really enough time to do everything I want, and then when I do have time I tend to spend it playing catch-up on adulting tasks or doing things on my more immediate ‘to-do’ list. At one point I was attempting to combat this by bullet journaling, but that habit, like so many others has slipped away again. If there’s one thing I’m learning about life, it’s the fact that so much of it consists of remembering and returning. Like with my unfinished projects I find myself circling back to the things that help center me and then drifting off again. Re-center and drifting off. “Finding myself” and “losing myself.” Venturing out and returning ‘home.’ Again and again.
I’m happy though, overall. Most days I don’t necessarily mind the schedule of the daily grind. I’ve been slowly working to make friends and connections. I’ve been learning and growing and exploring and experiencing new things. I’ve been getting in touch with who I am and what I want – brainstorming ways to get there. And so, that being said, I have no idea where life is taking me, but hopefully I can show you a glimpse of where I’ve been the last couple years.
Thanks for reading and for your support of me and all of my creative pursuits!
Much love,
Megan
Megan Amato 