MCreates

I am an introvert but my work requires me to attend company events and be in front of a lot of people. It is mandatory for my role so the only way to avoid them is to book something in advance that coincides with the schedule or to get sick. I know I can always try to say no but I also don’t want it to impact my performance review so I really need a good excuse.

It was during one of those moments when I know that an event will be scheduled in May that I tried to find somewhere I can go to and use it as my excuse for not attending. I have an idea of when the event will be anyway so I searched the web for my options and came across a watercolor retreat that will be held in a quaint boutique hotel nearby. It really caught my interest and signed up immediately. I have not tried watercolor painting but I have always loved art and design. I just never thought it’s for me.

Fortunately, the event is also scheduled the same day as the retreat. I got lucky! I got a good excuse and it is something new and interesting for me. The retreat is mostly for those who are already doing watercolor but it’s open for beginners like me. It was intimidating at first. But what the heck, I am here to enjoy it and learn something new. My first art work didn’t turn out great but I would like to think it’s decent enough for a first timer.

It was the start. I ended up painting the pictures taken by my friends. I even made some custom birthday cards for my dad and grandma. Mostly, I try flowers but also tried to expand to other things. When I ran out of pictures to paint, I ended up buying a DSLR and switched to photography.

Photography opened a whole new world for me. It brought me to places I have never been to. Showed me things I never paid attention to. It also gained me a few friends from the community. Then the pandemic happened which made landscape photography almost impossible since we are not allowed to get out of our houses. But that watercolor painting retreat seemed to have trigger my creative side that has long been idle that it drove me from one art to another.

Confined in my house, I was forced to find a creative outlet which brought me to upcycling bottles, jars and cans by painting them and turning them into vases, nightlamps, and candle holders. Bottles and jars became my canvas. From watercolor, I turned to acrylic. Slowly, I started using clay for my upcycling projects which eventually led me to pottery.

It sounds crazy. I still do a lot of those hobbies, whatever time and situation permits me to do. Looking back, I am just amazed by how one retreat opened the door for me to start exploring my creative side and it never seems to stop. It is like a stream that keeps flowing, one leading to another. It made me realize that you only need to take that step. You only need to start and things will come flowing and one day, when you look back, you will realize how far you’ve come.