The Pull to Create

My chilly basement studio is the best spot in the house this summer. When the temperature hits one hundred degrees, I’m not feeling it.

I’m sharing the space with my son, who has my headphones on and is listening to a book while he zooms back and forth across the concrete floor on one of my wheeled studio chairs.  So far, the only damage is a chip off a plastic bookcase during one of his first runs.  He’s learned how to stop and has avoided my easel. 

While he drives his chair, I’m working a collage on paper.  I take a handful of scraps from some recent mixed-media experiments, suminagashi and ink-dyed papers, and a few extras from the top of the pile; some quiet details for contrast. It’s a quick piece, put together with no expectations other than having something almost mindless to do between occasional conversations and cries of “slow down.”

© 2026, Sarah Z Short, What’s Underneath, 12” x 9”

He’s still going, so I make another, more scraps, a similar composition, but larger this time and more complex because we’re obviously not going anywhere anytime soon.

© 2026, Sarah Z Short, A Small Glimpse, 12” x 9”

It’s a bit stressful to work when I’m surrounded by noise and distractions, but when the pull to create is this strong, I listen.

If working without expectation feels like permission, Scraps might be the place to explore that.