Finding Your Creative Process

I want to start off by saying that having a creative process has helped my personal art journey immensely in terms of staying motivated to create. Without my creative process, I would not have been able to think of Catchall Creatives and start building something of my own.

However, in my case, my creative process did not come easily. It took a lot of research and soul searching! That sounds deep, but with hard work I was able to make my artwork just that, mine. I was able to let my style shine through in everything that I do, and that's something that no one can recreate but me. Which is why art is so amazing. You can create something, and I guarantee you that almost everyone will have a different interpretation of it. The way you interpret art, the way you display it, and the way you create it all go into that creative process.

There is no right or wrong way to start figuring out what your creative process is. All I know is what I have personally experienced, and so that's what I want to share! I found myself judging my own artwork and falling into that dangerous pit of comparing and negative self talk - "Ugh, their art is really good, it's so realistic looking. No way I can do that.", "If my stuff doesn't look EXACTLY like a photograph, what am I even doing??" ect. I didn't even stop to consider what made my art special and unique. My creative process naturally started forming when I realized that no one interprets, creates, inspires, and does art the way I do. How cool is that?! We are all so unique in how we do things, and that is something that can never be taken away from you. The only person that can make something of it or not, is you. Powerful stuff.

Before I go into my creative process, I want you to know that this is just one way of doing it and I don't want anyone to think that my way is by any means the "right" way. Just like I mentioned above, the Pit of Comparison is a dangerous place to be if you are really wanting to figure out what your creativity has to offer. That being said, I hope I at least inspire you to self reflect and to go out there and create!! Here we go.

For starters, yes, I've learned art techniques from other artists through various channels the world offers, but I've always wondered, "how do I get on that end of it?" How do I turn into the confident artist on the other end that is doing the teaching, reaching out and inspiring others? Well, I'm still working towards being on the other end of it, however, having a creative process is what is projecting me towards that direction.

I never sat down and thought to myself, "Okay, Emma, here's a pen and paper and let's write down step by step your creative process and figure this out!" Nope. Some people may do that, but that's not how it played out for me. Have you ever felt like your life is together, but just somethings aren't quite figured out and there's this small pit in your stomach that is just dying for that part of your life to be figured out?? Well, that's what I felt about with my art. I had everything going for me in life - I'm blessed with a good job and I'm accomplished in my field, I have amazing friends, I'm engaged to get married to the love of my life, my dog is the best dog in the world, I'm fortunate enough to still be able to play the sport I love, and further, I'm fortunate enough to be able to move and exercise my body and take care of my health... all these things put together, things are going pretty well!

It all sounds great when you highlight all that's going well for you, but for me, having that creative limitation was definitely weighing on me. It was draining honestly. Using my creativity is something that makes me feel like I'm thriving and actually living life. Instead of getting up everyday, do your 9-5, have only the weekends to do you, and that really be it. Nothing wrong with it! But especially during this time of working from home for over a year now due to COVID, it was weighing on me harder than ever. At least going into the office I was able to get creative at least with the clothes I wore, but now it's PJs all day (not complaining though). I've loved working from home, but since having a little extra time to start up my creative outlet, now is the best time to do it, so here we are! But how did I get here?

For a while I always had a hard time finding time to do art - whether I be scared to start a new project (yes, that's a thing lol), or I feel like I should put that creative effort into my corporate job so that I can get a leg up, or sometimes it's emotionally draining thinking about starting a new project after I get done with work for the day. It got to the point where I felt my creative value was not being leveraged, and I felt very limited with what I knew I could offer, so I finally did something that I've been wanting to do for years, and that's how Catchall Creatives was born lol.

Here are some things that I do for my creative process - I don't necessarily go in this order, and sometimes they overlap, but this is essentially what I do everyday and before tackling a project:

1. Research art techniques with my style in mind.

2. Practice, and not being scared to fail or that it'll look bad.

3. Positive self-talk

4. Pray for joy!!

5. Be self-aware of what my emotions and art style is, and everything I do or anything I see in my research will be approached with my personal creative mindset.

Sounds simple, but for me, it took a while to make these things daily habits. Now I'm doing it without even thinking about it, and my creativity leaks into all aspects of my life.

One new art arena I'm looking to become a part of soon is photography!! I'm learning so much already, but if you want a real life example of how I'm currently approaching that endeavor, I'll write my next blog post about it :) Be sure to go check it out!!

Feel free to always email or text me (770-362-0410) if you want to chat more about your creative process!