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Do you have a creative diversion – a hobby for lack of a better word? One frequently hears of physicians who have creative skills not directly related to their professional careers. Furniture-building surgeons, fly-tying orthopedists, pediatrician poets, painting dermatologists ... I have even heard unsubstantiated claims that the traits that encourage individuals to become physicians make it more likely that they will have creative skills. Another one of those left brain/right brain things that probably doesn’t hold water.
If you do have a hobby or have the seed of a creative impulse you think could blossom into a hobby, I bet you wish that you could have an unlimited amount of time to invest in that activity. I am going to argue that this is another example of a situation in which you should be careful what you wish for.
When I was 9 or 10 years old, I bought a small carving of a sandpiper in a gift shop on Cape Cod. I still have it with its chipped bill and yellowed paper label on its driftwood base. That little bird triggered my interest in carving, and with gaps sometimes measured in decades I have been a self-taught bird carver. Some are attempts at realism with burned in feathers that takes weeks to complete. Others are free form painted whimsically, and are created in a few hours. They aren’t for sale, but to keep my inventory in check I distribute them as birthday and hostess gifts.
Ten years ago, after decades of visiting art galleries and grumbling to my wife, “I could do that,” I decided to try my hand at two-dimensional landscape painting. It was a fun challenge, and after a year or 2, I was ready to see what other people thought of my work. The first show that I entered stipulated that all of the entries be for sale. With no intention of parting with my work, I priced mine several orders of magnitude above what I thought they were worth.
One sold, and with that began a 7-year period during which pretty much anything I painted with a maritime theme sold for hundreds of dollars. It was a nice ego trip, but it took me down a dark path in which I began to choose my subjects and style based on what I knew would sell. Creating was no longer something I did for a change of pace. I was now retired, but painting had become my job. I felt burdened by the obligation to paint enough to cover the walls of the restaurant that graciously hung my work.
Luckily, the epiphany that I had sacrificed my creative diversion, which began with that little sandpiper, coincided with the restaurant’s decision to redecorate and the loss of much of my hanging space. I was now free to paint subjects I was interested in, and return to the comfort of carving when I felt the need to create.
If you already have a creative diversion, remember that a large part of its appeal is that it plays counterpoint to your job. Even if you are retired, a hobby provides a change of pace from which we can all benefit.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Email him at [email protected].
Do you have a creative diversion – a hobby for lack of a better word? One frequently hears of physicians who have creative skills not directly related to their professional careers. Furniture-building surgeons, fly-tying orthopedists, pediatrician poets, painting dermatologists ... I have even heard unsubstantiated claims that the traits that encourage individuals to become physicians make it more likely that they will have creative skills. Another one of those left brain/right brain things that probably doesn’t hold water.
If you do have a hobby or have the seed of a creative impulse you think could blossom into a hobby, I bet you wish that you could have an unlimited amount of time to invest in that activity. I am going to argue that this is another example of a situation in which you should be careful what you wish for.
When I was 9 or 10 years old, I bought a small carving of a sandpiper in a gift shop on Cape Cod. I still have it with its chipped bill and yellowed paper label on its driftwood base. That little bird triggered my interest in carving, and with gaps sometimes measured in decades I have been a self-taught bird carver. Some are attempts at realism with burned in feathers that takes weeks to complete. Others are free form painted whimsically, and are created in a few hours. They aren’t for sale, but to keep my inventory in check I distribute them as birthday and hostess gifts.
Ten years ago, after decades of visiting art galleries and grumbling to my wife, “I could do that,” I decided to try my hand at two-dimensional landscape painting. It was a fun challenge, and after a year or 2, I was ready to see what other people thought of my work. The first show that I entered stipulated that all of the entries be for sale. With no intention of parting with my work, I priced mine several orders of magnitude above what I thought they were worth.
One sold, and with that began a 7-year period during which pretty much anything I painted with a maritime theme sold for hundreds of dollars. It was a nice ego trip, but it took me down a dark path in which I began to choose my subjects and style based on what I knew would sell. Creating was no longer something I did for a change of pace. I was now retired, but painting had become my job. I felt burdened by the obligation to paint enough to cover the walls of the restaurant that graciously hung my work.
Luckily, the epiphany that I had sacrificed my creative diversion, which began with that little sandpiper, coincided with the restaurant’s decision to redecorate and the loss of much of my hanging space. I was now free to paint subjects I was interested in, and return to the comfort of carving when I felt the need to create.
If you already have a creative diversion, remember that a large part of its appeal is that it plays counterpoint to your job. Even if you are retired, a hobby provides a change of pace from which we can all benefit.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Email him at [email protected].
Do you have a creative diversion – a hobby for lack of a better word? One frequently hears of physicians who have creative skills not directly related to their professional careers. Furniture-building surgeons, fly-tying orthopedists, pediatrician poets, painting dermatologists ... I have even heard unsubstantiated claims that the traits that encourage individuals to become physicians make it more likely that they will have creative skills. Another one of those left brain/right brain things that probably doesn’t hold water.
If you do have a hobby or have the seed of a creative impulse you think could blossom into a hobby, I bet you wish that you could have an unlimited amount of time to invest in that activity. I am going to argue that this is another example of a situation in which you should be careful what you wish for.
When I was 9 or 10 years old, I bought a small carving of a sandpiper in a gift shop on Cape Cod. I still have it with its chipped bill and yellowed paper label on its driftwood base. That little bird triggered my interest in carving, and with gaps sometimes measured in decades I have been a self-taught bird carver. Some are attempts at realism with burned in feathers that takes weeks to complete. Others are free form painted whimsically, and are created in a few hours. They aren’t for sale, but to keep my inventory in check I distribute them as birthday and hostess gifts.
Ten years ago, after decades of visiting art galleries and grumbling to my wife, “I could do that,” I decided to try my hand at two-dimensional landscape painting. It was a fun challenge, and after a year or 2, I was ready to see what other people thought of my work. The first show that I entered stipulated that all of the entries be for sale. With no intention of parting with my work, I priced mine several orders of magnitude above what I thought they were worth.
One sold, and with that began a 7-year period during which pretty much anything I painted with a maritime theme sold for hundreds of dollars. It was a nice ego trip, but it took me down a dark path in which I began to choose my subjects and style based on what I knew would sell. Creating was no longer something I did for a change of pace. I was now retired, but painting had become my job. I felt burdened by the obligation to paint enough to cover the walls of the restaurant that graciously hung my work.
Luckily, the epiphany that I had sacrificed my creative diversion, which began with that little sandpiper, coincided with the restaurant’s decision to redecorate and the loss of much of my hanging space. I was now free to paint subjects I was interested in, and return to the comfort of carving when I felt the need to create.
If you already have a creative diversion, remember that a large part of its appeal is that it plays counterpoint to your job. Even if you are retired, a hobby provides a change of pace from which we can all benefit.
Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Email him at [email protected].