From Corporate to Creative

I’m excited to launch my blog today! I pulled the door on my corporate job a little over 10 months ago and I’ve not looked back, at least not with any kind of regret. It’s been quite a journey, from corporate to creative, which certainly wasn’t without the worries and doubts one would expect when contemplating to leave a 25+ year career. But the desire to free myself from the corporate chains was strong, and after much deliberation and calculations, once I made up my mind and left, I felt a huge relief, paired with excitement and the confidence that everything was going to work out fine. So far it has and I’m enjoying every minute of my new life.

I had learned sewing on a machine growing up, but never found much use for it until I needed a creative outlet to balance the never ending stress at work.  During a sleepless night, from the couch, I ordered a simple inexpensive sewing machine online. It sat under my desk at home for a few months, but during the summer of 2017 I finally unpacked it and started to make some baby quilts as gifts for my partner’s newborn grandchildren. Before I knew it I had discovered modern quilting, and I was hooked. What started as creative stress management quickly became a hobby and then a full blown passion. I discovered places to shop for fabric and tools, I went to quilt exhibitions and shows, and sought to meet people to connect with to talk about quilting. I became a member of the North Jersey Modern Quilt Guild, and after a year I joined their Board as Treasurer (those corporate finance skills still find some good use). I’ve since had my first (mini) quilt published in the Curated Quilts magazine, and another quilt accepted to be exhibited at QuiltCon in February 2020, in Austin, TX. Both were huge milestones for me, and I was beyond excited and grateful to reach them. I also started to build my website, and now launching a blog.

I’ve always wanted to write a blog, simply because I love writing, especially about something I’m personally passionate about. Over the last two years I have found and enjoyed many blogs of quilters about their patterns and favorite tools, and with helpful tips and tricks, so I don’t think I can add much to that at this point. Instead, for the next few months, I want to write about how I’m developing a consistent creative practice, and some of the books I have read that have helped me on this journey towards a full time creative life. I have filled my bookshelf with works about artists I admire, and

books about the development of a sustainable practice, from daily rituals to finding your artistic voice. All of these have added tremendously to what I’m learning, how I structure my days, and how I think about what I do.  

At first it was tough, coming from a very structured and rigorous schedule of conference calls, meetings, presentations and deadlines, which had dominated my life for many years, to go to days where I could do whatever I wanted. Brilliant and absolutely wonderful you would say, and it was, and I certainly enjoyed it as a much needed break those first few months. But after the initial vacation feeling wore off I realized that I couldn’t sustain that. Although I was doing some sewing and building skills, I also felt scattered, I didn’t feel as productive as I wanted to be, and I was afraid to be squandering my time. 

One of several things that finally got me out of that was that I started to write every morning. I had never written a journal with any consistency, but the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron introduces the Morning Pages as an essential tool for a creative life. I was skeptical at first, but decided to take a leap of faith and see where it goes. She’s quite descriptive in how and what the Morning Pages are (and what they are not), and I’ve been following her recipe. I’m writing two to three pages in a notebook every morning, longhand, just my thoughts, whatever comes to mind, just to get it out of my head. Not for publication, not for anyone else to ever read. It can be negative, whiny, angry, and filled with petty stuff, or it can be positive, excited and happy, over small things or big accomplishments. Anything goes. I must say it’s made a huge difference. Simply draining my brain in the morning, the act of longhand writing slowing me down considerably compared to typing (and no room for editing!) it sets me up for the day ahead. I get all the hurdles out of my head and make room for creative thoughts, some of which I actually start while writing the pages. It has proven to be a very useful tool for me, and while I sometimes skip a day, I’ve stuck with it and I’m now enjoying these 30 mins or so in the morning, and looking forward to it every day.

Thank you for making it this far. I hope you’ll continue to read my blog and I look forward to sharing my journey from Corporate to Creative over the coming months.