Stress and Cathartic Creating

Posted on | October 20, 2007 |

The last week has been a stressful one. My father-in-law had a heart attack and needed two stents put in. They live about 40 minutes from us, so we were very involved in making sure he and my mother-in-law were cared for over the past week. My father-in-law is feeling much better and is home. We had my in-laws here until Thursday morning, when I shopped for groceries and drove them home.

While we’ve been going back and forth to the hospital, the only thing that has kept me calm and sane was the ability to continue to do some art. I did lots of embroidery on the little quilties Teesha taught us at the Fabric Journal workshop. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to make of them, though my mother-in-law kept asking me all week! My goal was to just keep my hands busy, to continue to create, and to stay present. I learned a long time ago not to fight the urge to create. It’s cathartic for me. It’s useful, and eventually, I turn the art into something that I love or someone else will love. It’s part of working intuitively - at least for me. I like things to build organically. That’s what was happening here.

I’m not going to share any photos today, since I haven’t had a chance to photograph what I’ve been doing, but I will photograph them some time soon. In the meantime, Monday is my treatment. I’ve organized some of the quilts and embroidery thread to be able to take them with me. I’m hopeful that, though I’ll have an IV in my left hand, I’ll be able to use it enough to hold the quilt. If not, I’ll nap with my iPod lulling me sweetly to sleep.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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