Harvesting Creative Joy
What brings me creative joy? I think this is a fair question to not only ask as an artist, but as a eating, breathing, talking human walking around in the modern world. Not only do I think people should ask themselves this question, but I think it's important to revisit the question many times throughout your life.
As we grow older, we learn, innovate, and change. What gives me creative joy today is not the same as what gave me joy when I was a kid. Heck, it's not even the same year to year most of the time. While certain themes remain present in what I'm passionate about, the things that I consume visually and spiritually are in a constant state of change.
So what is it that has brought me creative joy this past year may be a better way of framing my question.
Of course one of the things that brings me joy is pursuing surface design. I am heavily influenced by florals and nostalgic aesthetics that I grew up with in the late 90's and early 2000's. I remember my purple fuzzy rug, my box tv and my pink plastic blow up Barbie chair. I remember getting my scooter with the push down handle that converted it into a skateboard, the bright pink with black swirly hearts on it and green wheels. All of these specific memories are things that I look back on when I think of what kind of materials and textiles left an impression on me.
But I don't just do pattern work, I also do editorial and Childrens Book work. How does my joy influence those things? I remember spending hours flipping pages of childrens books as a kid. I loved to read but I also just loved to study the artwork. Some of the big ones that come to mind are 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and 'The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fairly Stupid Tales'.
There are also non-art related things that bring me creative joy; like spending time with my family, my friends, expereinceing something new and exciting or new and scary, the other forms of media that bring me entertainment, like a good TV show or a D&D podcast. I think ultimately there's no way to narrow down to a set list of what brings me creative joy, beause the actual answer is almost anything does. But when I look at my life in moments, I'm able to get a better sense of what gave me more creative joy in certain time periods.