doc w/ Pen

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Coming home to Chicago means I’ve reconnected with my family. It also means I’ve reconnected with my creativity.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved creating things with my hands. Beads, wire, glass, and paper have all been my mediums, at one time or another. Before starting medical school, I even sold some of my work at arts and crafts shows. But creating takes space. That’s something I lack at my New York City apartment. So the few supplies I didn’t get rid of, I left at my mom’s place.

This morning, I zipped open the red duffel bag that sat on a shelf in her musty basement for the last year. Inside the bag are clear tubs of beads and spools of colored wire. A velcro-secured pouch holds my wire cutters and other tools. In another box are pieces of second-hand silverware that I’d bought at resale shops. Take all those supplies, add some personal inspiration, and what you see in these photos is what you get.

Watching something take form before your eyes, something you have designed and created, is a good feeling. I’ve missed it.