Michon Jewelry Blog

It’s Sunday, and I can hear the voice of a TV preacher come on in the other room, where my husband is flipping through the channels. It gets me thinking about religion, spirituality, and the fact that I’ve been in a creative slump lately. In general I don’t feel comfortable sharing my thoughts on religion or spirituality, because I think it’s a very personal thing and I don’t think I have any kind of authority to tell other people what they should believe.

One thing I know, though, is that creativity can be a very spiritual experience. I may not be sure about what I believe in, but there are certain things I do that feed my creativity as well as my spirituality. Writing in a journal, doing breathing exercises or meditation at the end of a yoga workout, being really “in the zone” while working on a new jewelry design, or taking a walk and just letting my mind wander. These things give me a feeling of being grounded, while at the same time let my imagination go. I come up with my best creative ideas at times when I’m feeling something that I would almost describe as religious - some might call it zen. It’s a feeling of being very alert yet very calm at the same time. Things work when I feel that way that don’t work the rest of the time, and everything seems to make sense.

I know I’m not the only person who feels most spiritual when I’m at my most creative. Lots of artists, musicians, and writers talk about their creative process as a kind of religious experience. For example, Julia Cameron talks about God often in her well known book “The Artist’s Way”, which is a manual for developing creatively.

I realized that since the birth of my baby almost two months ago, I’ve been worried about money. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the business part of being a jewelry designer, but not so much about the creative, artistic part, which is what I love about designing. I need to remember to do things to nurture my creative, spiritual side, and not always be worrying about practical concerns like paying the bills. Of course it’s important to pay the bills, but it’s also important to remember why I got into this business in the first place - being creative fills a basic need that I have, keeps me grounded, and reminds me to think about the bigger questions in life, like what I really believe in.

I don’t normally write anything this personal on my business blog, but I think the connection between spirituality and creativity is worth thinking about, and I hope to make more of an effort to make time for these things in my life.