Portrait by SketchFree

My name is Andrea R Huelsenbeck.

I am transitioning to a new chapter in my life. I used to be an elementary general music teacher. Sounds like a fun and rewarding career, right? And it was. Until it became very stressful. I won’t go into the details of why I decided to bail, but in May, 2014, I resigned.

I never meant to retire, but as of today (May 28, 2015), I still don’t have a “real” job. I somehow fill my days anyway. I’m a wife, and mother to five grown children. I write, something I did before my recent teaching stint. My former critique group, Tuesday’s Children, invited me back. I contribute to their blog, Doing Life Together (click here to view). I am currently hard at work on a mystical Young Adult fantasy, a mystery, and a bible study guide on The God of Paradox.

I also started doing some of the things I never had time to do. I recommitted myself to practicing piano, but I also want to practice guitar and recorder and haven’t fit them in yet. I’d also like to learn how to draw and paint. I want to quilt, something I haven’t done in years. I also want to practice photography.

I noticed that all of these are creative longings. Which leads me to why I started this blog. I would like to connect with other creative people and see how they manage to devote time to their arts. I would like to start a dialog, and possibly host guest bloggers who would like to share their insights.

I want to write about the creative process, but also about arts that interest me. I’d like to share the little bit of expertise I’ve accumulated over the years.