When did you first discover your love for art?
When I was about four I picked up my first sketching pencils. My mom has an artist’s soul and sees the world through an imaginative lens and I suppose I picked that up from her. So in school I was the little girl with charcoal smudges on my hands from hours spent drawing.
How do you express yourself through creativity?
I try to create from a deep and honest place, and often hear remarks about the redemptive nature of my work. I’m always honored and surprised because I’m not sure I set out to make redemptive art – art that screams hope and healing and a promise that love is the ultimate victor – but I sure do believe those things to be true. I believe art already has something to say and its simply our job to show up at the canvas and participate with our creativity.
What inspires your creativity?
Open-air markets, fashion, layers and mixing of colors and textures, wide-open spaces, vintage heirlooms and modern lines… I love quirky details, little things that make you look twice. I carry a pad and pen everywhere so I can capture inspiration when it comes and there are bits of paper all over our home with scratches of song lyrics, lines from movies, and color combinations that grab my attention.
How has your artistic ability impacted the way you see the world and your own life?
I am so grateful to have a medium by which I can capture all the things I want to say but don’t have words to express. I cherish life and think it’s completely miraculous that you and I are breathing in and out this very moment. I also feel more connected to the pain and suffering of those who have less than us. I hope to use my creative giftedness to benefit and bless others, much like your brilliant company 31 Bits does!
How would you inspire others to use their creativity?
Sometimes creative work comes easy, there are days when it seems like the world is on fire and everything is amazing. But I don’t rely on those days to keep my creative work going because those days are the exception, not the rule. I keep my morning pages (three pages of free writing every morning), I take artist dates, and schedule time to work creatively whether I feel like it or not- not very glamorous but true. I also hold fast to the idea that we are all wired innately to create, and that if we’re willing to do a little digging we can rediscover those lost bits of ourselves. Creativity leads us beyond ourselves, so be open to the world around you and be ready to be amazed at how your art mends this broken world.
