Introducing...

Hi, my name is Rachel Hoffman-Bayles... ...and I'll be singing "Spark of Creation" from Children of Eden... (Sorry.  I introduce my name like that and the standard audition dialogue just rolls out.  I suppose it comes of hanging out with so many theatre people.)  But in all seriousness, I truly wish I could sing "Spark of Creation" for you in a way that does it justice.  It's one of my favorite songs in the whole musical theatre cannon.  (If you don't know this song, please go find a good version on YouTube!)  From the first time I heard it, it felt like my theme song.  The amazing Stephen Schwartz dug down into his artist soul and in his brilliant oh-so-Schwartzy way, he rhetorically nailed the exact feelings I have always had about the need to create.  There's something inexplicable in us that just has to make stuff.  We yearn to leave our mark and declare to the world that we were here, and hopefully made it a better place for being so. Although I do enjoy singing, this blog is going to be about art.  Well, mostly about art.  I may have studied Illustration and declared that as my occupation on many an official form, but I find it a lot more accurate to label myself as a "creator."  I enjoy the act of creating in more realms than just the visual arts.  I especially feel that broadening my identity and experiences as a creator enriches not only my art but my life, soul, and character.  So I imagine there will be posts about my other creative outlets.  For instance... For the past 10 years, I have experienced the amazing creative journey of motherhood.  At first this was a shock and a struggle for me.  Don't get me wrong--I had always wanted to be a mother.  I just blissfully presumed that it would be easy, and that of course I would be able to continue drawing and painting and maintaining a thriving freelance illustration career right from the cozy, motherly comforts of my well-kept home.  The picture has not been quite so idyllic.  As a busy mother of 1, 2, 3, and now 4, I've been able to do a spot here, a spread there, and somehow even a couple books, but mostly I have flown beneath the radar, knowing that even if I did do some full-out promotion, I might end up swamping my motherhood boat and put not only myself but also my children at risk of drowning in a sea of over-scheduling, over-committedness, and over-complication.  Add to my 4 children the very volatile and time-consuming occupation of my singer-actor husband, and you have the perfect storm of career incompatibility. Despite it all, I have learned to love and appreciate the challenges my unique life has brought me.  I have come to see my children as my greatest works of art.  They are certainly still a work-in-progress, and the fact that they have little wills of their own and are doing lots of the "painting" themselves is at times unsettling.  But it is also exciting and beautiful to see them grow and change and become. There's something in me that still longs to illustrate more.  My youngest is turning 2 years old in a couple months, and although I know that will initiate a whole new set of challenges, I'm starting to see a little light at the end of my career tunnel.  As I stoke the fires of my creativity and try to get my atrophied skills back in shape, I'd like to invite you to peek in now and then as I catalog my journey.  That spark has never gone out.  It's been flickering and waiting and keeping me excited about the future.  Let's see what I do next...