Creativity in the Cracks: Finding Time to Make When You’re a Busy Mama

Life is Full — and So Are Our Hearts

There’s a myth we often buy into as creatives—that we need long, uninterrupted hours, the perfect environment, and total peace to make meaningful art. But if you’re a mama, you know how rare that is.

Lately, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. Not in a dramatic way—just in the real, human way that comes with raising kids, running a business, and trying to do all the things while staying connected to your own creative spirit.

I’ve recently started volunteering at our local elementary school, teaching different classes how to make pinch pots. It’s been so rewarding—watching kids shape something with their own hands and light up with pride is magic. But of course, it’s also eaten into my pottery studio hours—the precious time I usually try to carve out while my kids are in school.

On top of that, I’ve taken on a role with our school PAC and recently organized a market fundraiser. Between planning, coordinating vendors, hosting a silent auction, and even giving young student entrepreneurs space to sell their handmade goodies, it was a full and beautiful experience. We raised quite a bit for the school, and I walked away with new connections and a full heart—but also very little clay under my nails.

This is life right now: full, busy, meaningful—and still, that quiet pull toward my wheel is always there. So, I’m learning to honour it in smaller ways. I’m learning to create in the cracks.

Letting Go of the Perfect Picture

I used to wait for the “right” moment to create: the quiet house, the long afternoon, the clear mind. But I’ve realized those moments don’t come often enough to feed the artist in me. So I’ve started showing up in the small spaces between everything else.

Sometimes it’s five minutes at the kitchen table sketching new designs while my kids do homework. Other days, it’s bringing supplies down to the house so I can glaze mugs while the kids are in bed. I’ve even caught myself dreaming up colour palettes while prepping dinner.

Is it ideal? No. Is it enough? Actually, it is.

Redefining What Counts as Creative Time

We often think of creativity as the final product, but so much of it lives in the in-between. The dreaming. The noticing. The way a certain morning light hits a bowl on the table. The way a child forms a lopsided pinch pot and calls it “perfect.”

That’s the real work. That’s the spark being tended.

Even organizing the market—though it took me away from the studio—was deeply creative. Making connections, designing a space for community, and watching young kids step into the magic of entrepreneurship… reminded me that creativity isn’t always about clay and glaze. Sometimes, it’s about weaving people and purpose together.

Tending the Inner Flame

I’ve been holding onto small rituals to keep my creative self nourished: lighting incense before I work with clay, drinking tea from one of my favourite mugs, and keeping a notebook nearby for ideas that come in fleeting moments. These tiny acts anchor me back to myself.

Even on days when I don’t make it, I’m still becoming.

To the Other Busy Mamas Out There

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin like your creativity is slipping through your fingers—know this: it’s still there. You’re not behind. You’re simply living a life that is full and rich and, yes, sometimes exhausting. Your creativity hasn’t left you. It’s just learning to live in the cracks.

Trust the rhythm you’re in. Honour the season. And when you do get a quiet moment with your craft, it will meet you like an old friend—soft, steady, and full of light.

A Gentle Invitation

What do your ‘cracks’ look like these days? Is there a quiet corner of your life where your creative self is waiting to be invited in? Even if it’s just a breath, a thought, a spark—let that be enough.

I hope you find ways to fill those cracks with all the things that matter the most to you.

In love and light,

Lindsey xo