5 Years Later, Chaos, October Bills, and Building a Creative Life

Well, here we are.

It’s hard to believe, but it has officially been five years since we packed up our lives and moved to this area. Looking back, it has been one hell of an adventure.

Every year, right around this time, October hits us like a tidal wave. It’s always a weird month for us. Because we moved here five years ago in October, everything lines up all at once: car registrations, insurance premiums, and an endless barrage of annual medical checkups. Combine that with the seasonal “yearly bills” wave, and we spend pretty much the entire month feeling broke.

Add to that the yearly scramble of getting ready for the holidays, designing our upcoming calendars, and doing our absolute best not to lose our collective minds… and, well, you get the picture.

But this October? We decided to throw even more onto the pile.

Because why not, right?

First up: we went back to school! I am super proud to say that Klee and I are now officially teaching art on Mondays at St. Stephen’s School. Seeing those kids dive into creating art and getting their hands dirty is easily one of the highlights of our week.

At the same time, we’ve been running around wearing a dozen other hats:

• We installed and are now managing the live streaming setup for Oil City Council (getting up close and personal with a whole lot of audio cables and tech setups).
• We’ve been organizing community art nights at The Exchange, including some pretty awesome pumpkin-painting sessions lately!
• We’re prepping for a brand-new art show called “Neon Nostalgia,” which opens at the beginning of next month.
• On top of all that, we officially started showing and selling our original work at The Fallen Shoppe right here in Oil City.

So… why am I laying out this massive laundry list of chaotic busywork, financial stress, cable management, and calendar designs?

It’s not just to complain about car registration fees or brag about how many art projects we can cram into 31 days.

Five years ago, when we moved here, we didn’t know exactly how all the pieces were going to fit together. We just knew we wanted to build a life centered around community, creativity, and living intentionally.

When you look at a month like this from the outside, it looks like pure stress: bills piling up, endless tasks, a schedule stretched to its limits. But when you look closer, when you’re sitting on the floor routing cables, painting frogs at your studio table, or standing in front of a chalkboard covered in chalk scribble that reads “YAY! ART”, you realize something pretty cool:

The chaos isn’t in the way of the life we’re building. The chaos is the life we’re building.

Every single thing making us crazy this month is something we chose, planted, or poured our hearts into over the last five years. The crazy schedule means we’re connected. The new art shows mean we’re still creating. The teaching means we get to pass it on.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, if life feels like a giant tangled pile of bills, deadlines, and responsibilities, try taking a step back. Look at what’s actually filling up your days. Sometimes, the craziness is just proof that you’re right in the middle of living something you once prayed or worked for.

Keep creating, stay patient with the process, and remember to laugh through the hectic months. We’re right there in the trenches with you.

Until next time, keep making art and making noise!