The whole world has changed in the last month. It feels like March 1 was years ago…BUT, one important thing that happened during this bizarre month was Artifice’s birthday!

It’s officially been one full year since I started this beautiful project. Can you believe it? I’ve loved every interview. I hope you have, too. ?

March 2020 Featured:

Every one of my guests this month shared their experience with creative adaptability and resilience. It’s an EXTRAORDINARILY timely theme…

You’ll have to listen to get full insights, but here are some nuggets:

I am so inspired by Jared’s story of his childhood struggles with reading (remember, he’s now an author!), and the way one of his teachers taught him to value what was unique about his mind by encouraging him to play chess. Jared quickly realized that his brain allowed him to think in a way that made some things difficult, but gave him a phenomenal advantage, elsewhere. Jared shared story after story of remaining creatively resilient in the face of change and rejection—persisting through these “funnel points” in your creative life.

Melissa and I talked about ever-changing nature of the human voice, and how it demands adaptability. When your instrument is made of tissue—susceptible to allergies, illness, changes in climate (and on, and on, and on)—you must quickly learn to maintain a resilient spirit about your creativity. I also loved hearing Melissa talk about play. When we, as artists, stop “playing” and let fear or perfectionism take over, we lose the ability to be truly creative.

A true art-preneur and business mind, Josh shared several stories about adapting his creativity to fit within market demands. We talked about how artists can often stop short of the “production” phase of our creativity. We imagine wonderful projects, but struggle to take actionable steps to make our creativity come to fruition. I am certainly a believer that creativity is the main action involved in problem solving, resourcefulness, and productivity. If we, as creatives, can apply our most artful minds to the more tangible facets of our lives, there’s no telling what more we can do.

Rachel also has a unique perspective about creative resilience. One thing I especially loved was Rachel’s insight about networking. She talked about imposter syndrome—not feeling “good enough” to really join her profession. But then…taking the initiative to build genuine relationship with others in her industry. If everyone knows you, you’re quickly going to start feeling like you belong in the group! I think this is a perfect example of adaptive creative resilience, and creative problem solving. *Note: Rachel also co-hosts a podcast about creativity. Check it out! CREATE LOUD >>>

My conversation with Haley also seemed to keep coming back to resilience. I loved hearing Haley talk about how she handled a “dry period” in her writing career. During her time in the military, and subsequently working in a prison, Haley paid close attention to the beautiful variety of people, personalities, and experiences she was having. While she wasn’t actively writing during this time, her creative mind was in full action—gathering material with which to build full characters and stories in her writing.

I’d love to leave you with the idea that creativity is twofold…there’s an abstract kind of creativity. This would include imagination, thinking creatively about your perspective and paradigm, taking an out-of-the-box approach to resourcefulness. And there’s tactile creativity—honing your technical skills, reaching out to collaborators, slowly and surely executing your production plan. Creative resilience requires BOTH sets of skills. Depending on your personal strengths, weaknesses, and circumstances, you may need to dig deeper into one half or the other. But the end point will require both.

Next up for Artifice is my Boise series! Tune in on the next three Tuesdays to hear from some incredible Boise-based artists.

Stay healthy, everyone!

Love,

Emily