I thought retirement would mean making art and posting a video every week, but three months passed before my next upload. Life started lifing, and I’m learning that I have to make time for art with intention. My goal is to keep creating in a way I can sustain.
If you’re struggling to keep creating, I want to share what happened when my plans needed to change.
Key Takeaways
- Creating consistently takes intention, especially when family and home responsibilities need attention.
- A simple, flexible schedule can help you return to creative work. Even 15 minutes a day can build a habit.
- Retirement brought both more room to create and a sense of loss for students, colleagues, regular income, and shared purpose.
- Creative projects can include any kind of art making, then sharing online, and learning as you create.
- Showing up and continuing to create matters more than having every project or routine figured out.
When life needed attention
June, July, and August went toward home and family responsibilities, with September feeling much the same. Those decisions affected people I care about and am responsible to, so I needed to make time for them.
An electrical panel or roof repair can’t always wait. I needed to secure a solid foundation, and I don’t regret taking that time.
Making art without guarantees
There’s no guarantee people will connect with my work, buy anything, or that a project I’ve spent hours on will go somewhere. Bills, healthy meals, exercise, car insurance, and time still need attention. I also need to protect time to create.
I wondered whether I’d need another job and create on the side again. But I’d waited for this moment, and I wanted to restructure my life so I could keep creating.
Finding structure after teaching
When I retired to make art, I thought I’d have all the time in the world. I’m learning that I still need a schedule for making time for art.
While teaching, I found time where I could, sometimes an hour earlier in the morning or 30 minutes after work. I could wake up early for 15 minutes a day and use my iPad for art practice. Keeping my iPad within reach would make short sessions easier and help build a habit. A flexible schedule would make it manageable. That calling doesn’t disappear because life gets busy.
Missing the classroom
After 25 years of teaching, including nearly 15 at my last school, I missed my students, colleagues, regular income, and sense of shared purpose.
Sometimes I catch myself thinking about their school day. It takes time to adjust to the loss of the classroom. There’s a mourning period, even as I recognize this creative time is something I wanted.
Learning through music and friendship
Affordable tickets brought me to John Fogerty, Diana Ross, the Violent Femmes, Steel Pulse, and Stevie Wonder. Watching them reminded me that making art takes practice.
My friend Goldie, Linda Hagood, offered another reminder: an independent musician writes, records, promotes, shares, and performs. I also spent time with Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, whose film Playing with Fire addresses fire and mountain communities with humor and artistry.
Making Time for Art: Returning to the Work
I’m updating my website and blog, making collages, and working on my Hoshi Hana email list, with a free zine for subscribers. My creative time also includes drawing and sharing updates on social media.
I’ve prepared mizuhiki and tassel earrings for my Etsy shop, learning as I make and list each piece. I plan to donate 50% of all sales to the San Francisco Mime Troupe.
I’ve also made about 10 new T-shirt designs for my Art Love Friend Amazon shop. One says:
New T-shirt I designed for the Art Love Friend Amazon shop: Waste not thy strength on dread. Begin and the burden shall lessen. The design is based on my own need to move forward despite personal obstacles and dealing with the unglamorous aspects of art making. (https://www.artlovefriend.com/pages/amazon-t-shirts-hoodies)
I’m sharing this journey while it’s happening, with the uncertainty and unfinished work included.
Keep showing up
I’m learning to trust myself because I love ideas, sharing, and people. Distractions still pull me away, so for now, my job is showing up and keeping a simple schedule that helps me make time to return to my work.
If you’re discouraged, give yourself time to make something, enjoy it, and share it. Keep art supplies nearby; spending 15 minutes a day with your art practice can build a habit of returning to art, even on busy days. I’ll keep going, and I hope you will too.