It’s that spark; the one that persists until you do something about it. That spark is what inspires me to purchase supplies for making something that I may not actually get around to for months. But the spark is compelling; and something about gathering the supplies keeps the inspiration from leaving too soon to act on it. Of course, I have plenty of supplies sitting in bins that were intended for various projects that I never got around to. Digging through those supplies can ignite the spark again, but if it sits too long it is very difficult for me to act on that spark. There is just too much on my plate already.

So the trick for me is to act on the spark as soon as I can. Recently, this meant suddenly diving into making very late at night when I swore I was exhausted and going to bed after getting my kids to sleep. That spark made me do it. The supplies were there in front of me on my work table. So I just started.

And about and hour later, I had two sets of felted earrings. The first set is made from simple, wet felted, gray alpaca wool balls that are strung onto bent jewelry headpins. The second set uses flat wet felt that is cut, hole punched, and strung onto a headpin. A piece of blue-gray kyanite anchors the headpin.

Although I have been making things my whole life, I have only recently begun to understand how my own creativity works. What sparks me and when do I act on it, or when do I let it go? What do you do when the spark is within you?