“When I first got sober, my creative passions were still there waiting for me but I had changed.”
Sondra Primeaux
I have always been artistic, but didn't start pursuing a specific path until my 20s. I went to school for photography and while I always felt like I had the talent, I didn't have the ability to make a successful career from it. My path into textiles mirrored my photography path. I was always full of ideas, sort of barstool brilliance, and while I could be somewhat reliable for hired work, I had a hard time seeing personal projects to completion.
When I first got sober, I was still working in the service industry, one thing I could mindlessly do for a paycheck but I had to leave that industry because I had to finally break apart all of those old patterns. Luckily, my creative passions were still there waiting for me but I had changed. While before I could only manage to be creatively motivated by commissions, now I had time, and energy, and clarity to pursue ideas, things that I wanted to make just for the joy of making them.
Now, my creative pursuits keep me grounded, I started my site, The Unruffled, to help others who are trying to find or reignite their creativity in recovery and I've met so many kindred souls on this journey. One thing that I've always pined for is to have a community of other creatives that I could bounce ideas off of, or collaborate with and actually follow through. I've started creative sober meetups in my city and hope to grow that community and eventually make it a space. Tammi Salas and I started an art exchange six months ago with other creative women in recovery, and it has become one of the most special things I am doing now. It is so important to my recovery. I had to find something that I liked more than drinking and I've certainly found it.