From the Road: Creativity in Motion

From the Road: Creativity in Motion

Hello, Friends and Colorful Humans,

After finally getting a stable internet connection and firing up my big computer, this edition of I Draw Home has made its way to your inbox.

I’m writing to you from the winding road of life, art, and moving.

On June 30th, we drove out of Portland on a scorching afternoon, headed toward family in our home state of Colorado. After days of packing, cleaning, packing a U-Haul, and cleaning some more—we finally hit the road.

Creativity on Pause

Being an artist and taking a break from creative work can feel deeply uncomfortable. With all the packing and printing (into the wee hours of the morning for my upcoming pop-up shop), I didn’t leave space for painting or drawing. I barely slept. I had packed all my art supplies, thinking I’d draw at night or paint on the go—(not sure how, since I was the one doing the driving, but my whimsical brain had a plan anyway).

Of course, life had other ideas: car trouble, flat tires, late nights, and packing delays. I’m not great at estimating timeframes either—turns out packing a U-Haul takes more like eight hours, not three.

With my mind in overdrive, I couldn’t summon a single creative thought. I waited and waited, hoping my nervous system would settle enough to open back up, let its guard down, and take a deep breath. To sink into the river of creativity again.

Because for me, art doesn’t happen in chaos. I have to feel it in my soul. I need stillness to receive the ideas. In a world that feels so heavy and fast, it’s essential to keep returning to that quiet, magical place.

The Sunset That Opened Me

It wasn’t until I reached Montana, and stood under the most breathtaking sunset, that something shifted. Watercolor skies wrapped around me, and for the first time in days, I felt peace in my tense shoulders.

In the freedom of the sky—and the beautiful lostness of wandering the West—I found my creative voice again. She hadn’t disappeared in all the change. She was just resting, tucked away in a quiet cave. I simply needed to slow down enough to hear her whisper again.

A Small Reminder from the Road

Make time for creativity in your life—whatever that looks like for you. It doesn’t have to be perfect or productive. It just has to be yours.

In a world that often feels noisy and uncertain, creativity is what keeps us human. It brings us back to the moment, to ourselves, and to the people we love—with more empathy, softness, and color.

With heart from the road,

Marissa