One month ago, I went from working a part-time office day job for a tiny non-profit to a full-time administrative position at a mid-sized university. The increase in income and benefits are a welcome relief, and I get to interact with a lot of interesting people, but I do miss all the extra hours I had for writing and drawing.
As I've been learning the complex systems of a much larger organization, I've put my own creative projects completely on hold (unless you count sketching during the sermon). I wanted to be sure my new employer reaped the full benefits of my mental energy. But now that I'm more accustomed to how things are done, I feel free to pour some of that energy back into art. Yesterday, I began sketching from imagination again with a vague idea of producing a Christmas card design. The pencil sketches, above, of kids making a snowman are from my first stab at getting into that mindset. I'll do some more this evening and hope to have a Christmas card image ready to submit to an online company for printing by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.
I also have a novel waiting for its writer. It's one that I was deeply into writing this past summer, but had to set aside in mid-September when someone near and extremely dear to me had a stroke. That special someone is now recovering nicely, and I will happily re-enter my fictional world during the university's generous Christmas vacation.
