" Y O U   M U S T   B E
A B L E   T O   C R E A T E
I N   T H E   M I D D L E
O F   T H I N G S
O R   E L S E
Y O U   W I L L   N O T
C R E A T E."
Eric Maisel

" K E E P   O N
S T A R T I N G,   A N D
T H E   F I N I S H I N G
W I L L   T A K E   C A R E
O F   I T S E L F. "
Neil Fiore

" T H E R E   E X I S T S
N O   M O R E   D I F F I C U L T
A R T
T H A N
L I V I N G. "
Seneca

Eric Maisel often talks about the need to create in the middle of things. By this he means being able to do create work in the midst of our busy daily lives. He also refers to creating in the presence of extraordinary circumstances.

I practice going to my studio daily. When I am traveling I carry handwork with me. I have mastered carving out spaces of 15 minutes when I don't have three uninterrupted hours to devote to my creative work. I continue to be amazed at how much I can accomplish in these short sessions now that I have embraced the concept.

Recently my commitment to creating in the middle of things was tested. During one of my Seriously Creative weekend sessions we had what I call a plumbing event. Our dishwasher overflowed spilling water across the kitchen floor. Our attempts to sort out the problem resulted in more over flow with water spilling into our basement.

This all happened at a point in the course when the participants were supposed to be engaged in a reflective activity. They were quietly working in spaces throughout the house. Some were in the living room, some on the back deck while others worked in my studio.

Despite our anxiety and frustration, we maintained an atmosphere of relative, if intense, calm. The women in the course were certainly aware of the situation and they continued their work. Gary was aware that I was supposed to be teaching and he graciously assumed most of the responsibility for trying to figure out what was going on.

Earlier in the day I had been discussing the advantages and disadvantages of working in your home with my friend Jayne. As we were trying stop the flow of water from the dishwasher she smiled and said, "I guess this is one of the disadvantages of working in your home."

I have thought about her comment. While it is true that it was not an optimal situation, it did provide an opportunity to model creating in the middle of things. We carried on. We did what we had to do to control the situation and then we returned to our work.

After the participants had left for the day we phoned our dear friend Doug Reynolds to ask for guidance in assessing the problem. He agreed to come the next day to help us. Knowing that the situation was under control, we went back to our work.

That evening as we walked to a neighbourhood restaurant for dinner Gary and I chatted about creating in the middle of things. We agreed it has become a regular practice for us. Regardless of what is happening in our lives, we have mastered the concept of returning to our work. Whether distractions are related to household responsibilities, work requirements or social commitments, we are able to find time in our busy lives for our creative pursuits. We wondered how much disruption would be required to keep us from the work we love.