I’m not entirely certain which of the nine muses is in charge of travel writing, but in my time on the gig, I have become painfully aware of her demands. For the most part, she is benevolent and offers up tiny specks of inspiration that require hours and hours of work to flesh out into something worth distributing for free on the internet. While she is generous, she is also jealous when a creator puts his attention elsewhere. Specifically, she gets particularly demanding when a day job gets in the way of creative pursuits. Burning for attention, she poisons the mind with a special kind of resentment that makes one feel trapped by the commitments that require leaving the house and working for someone else. If a correction isn’t made, it becomes an ugly, downward spiral where a writer will end up blaming everyone and everything around him for his inability to set aside time to do the work that he loves. Sometimes, seeing how someone else balances creative pursuits and a job is just the kind of inspiration an artist needs in order to course correct. If a day job is getting in the way of you and your muse’s partnership, I would suggest taking a drive out to Tio’s Tacos in Riverside, California.

It is entirely possible that Tio’s exists because of the banality of a day job. Despite what the Food Network has led us to believe, working in a professional kitchen is a rote and repetition occupation. The lunchtime crowd isn’t looking for surprises. They want the same taco, made the same way as the one they had last time. Shoving a creative type like owner Martin Sanchez behind the counter had to have given flight to this place. He opened a business in order to provide for his family. However, he also has a spirit of an artist that clearly could not be contained as evidenced by his creations that eclipse his restaurant.

Instead of decorating a landfill with the cast-offs from his kitchen, he chose to turn his taco stand into his canvas. Everything left over from the kitchen is put to good use in his art. From oyster shells and flattened out tin cans, to beer bottles and caps, he finds a way to repurpose things that most of us would throw away. He even goes as far as using empty propane bottles and flat top grills to fill out the body of one of his creatures. A walk through the courtyard is a departure the mundane world and an entrance into the mind of an artist. From the peak of the roof, down to the cement underfoot, each and every corner of Tio’s bears his mark. Tio’s Tacos is a monument to all of us create, but also have to grind it out on the clock for someone else. Sanchez provides the evidence you can take care of your commitments and still give life to a vision, as long as you’re willing to set aside the time.