海角大神

For Laura Veirs, cycling was a time for crying.

It was 2018. Few would have suspected that the songwriter鈥檚 life was unraveling. Two years earlier, a supergroup collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang had elevated her profile. Her latest solo album, 鈥淭he Lookout,鈥� had wowed critics. It exemplified her talent for creating lyrical images of nature, like a plein-air painter utilizing a folk-rock palette. One song included her two young children on backing vocals. The title track was a tribute to her music producer husband.聽

She hadn鈥檛 anticipated her marriage would end.聽

At the time, Ms. Veirs found out that two friends were preparing for a 100-mile bike ride. A query: Could she join them? She bought a bike and started training. That鈥檚 when she鈥檇 release pent-up tears.

鈥淏iking is the main thing that helped me process my divorce,鈥� says Ms. Veirs, hands cradling a hot drink outside a coffee shop near her Portland, Oregon, home.聽

It also heralded a fresh life cycle. The songwriter is constantly reinventing herself. This month, Ms. Veirs released her聽first live album, 鈥淟aura Veirs and Her Band (Live in Brooklyn).鈥澛營t鈥檚 self-produced. She has embraced other firsts, such as adopting a dog, learning to dance, and practicing French on a language app (鈥淚 have a 275-day Duolingo streak,鈥� she says, beaming.) Those activities replenish the groundwaters of her creative wellspring, often finding fresh channels for artistic expression.

鈥淚鈥檝e always held Laura Veirs as a model of creativity and invention, definitely in her approach to songs, but also in the ways she lives her life 鈥� always observing, always learning, always challenging herself, always expanding what it means to live a life in music,鈥� writes songwriter 聽in an email. Ms. Gibson鈥檚 acclaimed 2009 album, 鈥淏easts of Seasons,鈥� featured Ms. Veirs. 鈥淪he is curiosity personified 鈥� this comes across in her music, just as much as in her various undertakings.鈥�

鈥淎 free exploratory state鈥�

Ms. Veirs released her eponymously titled debut 25 years ago. Twelve more solo albums have followed. She鈥檚 been running her own cottage industry, Raven Marching Band Records, while raising two kids. That inspired a podcast, 鈥淢idnight Lightning,鈥� in which she interviewed other mothers about balancing music careers with having children. Amid the warp and weft of recording, touring, and parenting, her marriage started to fray.

Alfredo Sosa/Staff

Laura Veirs says she is careful not to judge ideas when they arrive. Her process is to finish a draft in one sitting. Then she returns to edit, sculpt, and refine her writing.

鈥淚 gave way too much of myself away and ended up in a pretty dark place,鈥� she says, describing the inspiration behind 鈥淪easide Haiku,鈥澛爋ne of the highlights on the live album. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a warning call, especially to women who end up often giving a lot more of themselves than they maybe should, to someone who may not be reciprocating that.鈥�

That song originally appeared on 鈥淔ound Light,鈥� the postdivorce record that she coproduced with Shahzad Ismaily.聽As its title implies, it鈥檚 not a 鈥渟traight-up rage album,鈥� says Ms. Veirs. She was keen to reveal beauty on the other side of the marriage split. It spurred self-discovery. For instance, when she and her children moved into a new home, she took up painting to populate the bare walls with artwork. Now she hosts a painting group once a week.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 more of a free exploratory state, which I aspire to find with music,鈥� she says.

Ms. Veirs has a tip for entering that frame of mind: Get up from the chair.聽

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 the physical movement 鈥� or being on a train or in a car, the movement of yourself in space 鈥� but something about that movement does prompt for me creative flow, which then I will take and capture on my phone in the Notes app,鈥� she says.

Ms. Veirs is careful not to judge ideas when they arrive. You can block your own way with self-doubt, she says. Her process is to finish a draft in one sitting. (Her album 鈥淧hone Orphans,鈥� released last year, was curated from unreleased demos.) Then she returns to edit, sculpt, and refine ideas. Having something waiting for her helps offset fear of the blank page.

鈥淲hat I find really beautiful about Laura鈥檚 way of working is that she鈥檚 one of those rare artists ... that are eminently aware of both structure and emotion in songwriting in a simultaneous way,鈥� says Mr. Ismaily, who plays drums on the new album. 鈥淎nd secondly, she has a killer sense of groove and time.鈥�

When Ms. Veirs teaches songwriting classes, she finds that many of her students have struggled to complete songs.聽

鈥淚 think that the root of that is fear of commitment,鈥� she says. 鈥淐ommitment to themselves.鈥�

For 2018鈥檚 鈥淭he Lookout,鈥� Ms. Veirs invented her own card deck. The cards offered lyric and music prompts such as 鈥淚nclude a church鈥� or 鈥淲rite in 5/4 time.鈥� The idea is to spark disciplined creativity. Ms. Veirs utilizes her patented Kaleidoscope Creativity Cards while teaching. She remembers one Zoom workshop in which students were tasked with finishing a song in 45 minutes. One person asked whether he absolutely had to use the prompt on his card.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥榊ou don鈥檛 have to, but if you鈥檙e afraid, if there鈥檚 something bothering you about it, it鈥檚 probably worth looking at,鈥欌�� Ms. Veirs recalls. 鈥淗is card was 鈥榃rite about a family member that鈥檚 not living anymore.鈥� He finished a song and it was about his daughter who had passed away 10 years ago. He鈥檇 been trying to write about her for 10 years. ... We were all tearing up, and it was beautiful.鈥�

Going with the flow

Surprisingly, Ms. Veirs reveals that she鈥檚 at an existential juncture about whether to continue writing songs.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not calling me,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he thing is it always called to me and I鈥檓 like, 鈥榃ell, also, who says you have to be a songwriter?鈥欌��

That doesn鈥檛 portend the end of her music career. She鈥檚 working on an instrumental album. Tours are always in the offing. But her boyfriend, a college music professor, starts a sabbatical in June. She鈥檚 going to join him. They鈥檙e planning on taking roller-skating classes.聽In the meantime, she鈥檚 already exploring fresh endeavors.

鈥淚 just borrowed a couple of power saws from my friend because I want to make some tables,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 just go with the flow of where my life is instead of being like, 鈥榃ell, you鈥檙e a songwriter, so you have to sit here and grind at this for eight hours a day for the rest of your life, because that鈥檚 all you get to do!鈥欌�澛�

She pauses to laugh, then adds, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not how I see creativity.鈥�