Photo by Kari Paine
The Space to Create by Cara Cummings
B
eing here was not planned. In fact, looking back, I think I tried not to be here. But the thing is, it’s impossible — no matter how hard I may have tried to stick to the plan.
It’s impossible not to get up in the morning and make art, even if the making starts in my mind. It’s impossible not to teach people about the things I love, and to help them create for themselves. It’s impossible not to grow food and flowers and beauty, and to share it with my community. It’s impossible not to orbit an enticing galaxy of creativity and possibility —
16 | The Brick Magazine
one where it’s so easy to find inspiration on some days, and is frustratingly impossible to access on other days. Here, the space to create was the reward, the stolen time when I should have been doing something else. It was just for fun, or an escape. But the space kept getting bigger, and it worked its way into everything. I couldn’t contain it. Being here made no sense; it didn’t pay bills or invite praise. However, in those moments when I didn’t fight it, when I allowed myself to create and to share, I found myself floating in a place where things became clear.
