Balancing motherhood with art endeavors has always been a challenge for me. I've been at this for 15 years now and I'm still going at it. I remember years ago literally throwing a pot on the wheel, whipping my apron off, then changing a diaper, only to throw that apron right back on to sit back at the wheel. It takes a lot of concentration to do a lot of what I do so I usually end up working while my toddler is sleeping, but there is more creativity going on while he is awake.
Whether its making a spider out of pipe cleaners and googly eyes at the local craft store...
or building a "movie theatre" on the floor...
... there is creativity of its own kind going on everywhere around me, I just have to stop and appreciate it for what it is. Even if it doesn't look the way that I envision it to be that day, I need to stay focused on the beauty that is being created around me every day. I love this quote by Erwin McManus, "He chooses to use human beings as His instruments to create everything that is beautiful and good and true." I love the thought of God carrying on His creation process through His children, and, in the same way, I need to embrace letting my children be the instruments to carry on the creation process in those moments when I can't.