What Creativity Means to Me

As I recently shared here, I've finally started to get back into painting for the first time since having Naiya and it feels so liberating.

I don't think I realized how important it is to have this creative outlet that allows me to completely decompress until I became a mom.  

New mom life is so rewarding but it can also be beyond draining! Painting has become my secret sauce for true relaxation and I've  greatly enjoyed infusing it back into my life at least once a week.

Sharing what creativity means to me today along with some recent creative mother-daughter moments with Naiya and I below.

Phil and I are continuing to savor this special time with her before she turns one year old so naturally, I can't stop snapping photos. I can't believe we have less than one month to go! Last year at this time, I was super prego--waddling around, about to pop, wondering how insane labor and motherhood would be.

How Creativity Has Shaped Me

My love for creativity has shaped me since I can remember. I distinctively remember all of my neighborhood friends wanting to play with Barbies or games all the time like normal kids and all I ever wanted to do were art projects. 

Thankfully, my mom played into this creativity and really encouraged me to go after it when I was younger.One of my earliest memories includes my mom making a huge vat of chocolate pudding and putting some giant pieces of paper out on our kitchen table so that I could dunk my hands into the bowl and finger paint.

I also remember her giving me her old shoe boxes so that I could create 3D dioramas.  From there, she'd buy me tons of other art supplies too so that I could paint, draw and even origami the day away. I grew up in upstate New York where the winters were seemingly never-ending, uber-snowy and freezing, so staying inside and being creative felt like the perfect thing to do.

Los Angeles blogger, RELish By Arielle, wears a Madewell striped button-down

My Changing View of Creativity

As I got older, I ended up falling in love with watercolor painting. I would draw gowns upon gowns for hours and time would melt away.

By the time I was a teenager, I started to look at my passion for art as something I could do for fun but I never really thought that I could make a career out of it.

At the time, I didn't know of anyone who was able to support themselves off of art financially so it started to take a back seat because it didn't seem pratical.

Creative Mama

Now that I'm a mom, I realize now more than ever how important it is to allow our children to dream big and not get overwhelmed by the potential financial outcomes of their dreams.It's always a good idea to keep everything in perspective and to be practical but it's equally important to allow them to go after the things that make them come alive.

I can't wait to teach Naiya these lessons. Even if she ends up being a math and science girl (more power to her!), I'm so excited to share with her my love for the arts so that she'll be well-rounded and have a real appreciation for it.

Likewise, I'm currently in the midst of revamping my online watercolor shop and I look forward to sharing the latest and greatest on that front soon.

It's never too late to keep creating.What's your relationship with creativity and how has it changed over the years? I'd love to hear more about it in the comment section below.

Photography: Azusa Takano