Well, lovelies…
Wedding season is coming to a close, and I’m extremely pleased to report that I’ve only felt utterly overwhelmed for maybe 3-5 total days. 😅
Seriously though, this feels like a sign that I’m hitting a new stride.
Over the past several years, I feel like I’ve been building up my values system from scratch – really asking myself what I believe, finding the boundaries of my personal ethics, realizing what this being needs in order to be most vibrant.
The frontier is vast, but I feel as though I’ve cleared a bit of rough terrain.
Maybe it’s just the timing – wedding season ending, school having just begun – but life feels pretty abundant today.
…or maybe it’s because I saw so many horses on this morning’s interstate journey.
**Pro Tip: Never take a horse for granted**
Anyway.
As I look over my notes from September’s Artifice guests, I see abundance here, as well.
What a GIFT to interview my childhood bestie Matt, who just released his first book.
Matt’s a psychiatrist, specializing in childhood and adolescence.
Early in our interview, he dropped this treasure:
“The capacity of the mind, or for a person to be able to maintain their imagination as they grow up…being able to hold onto that, or pieces of that. Because those that maintain that kind of imaginative mindset are the ones that are most able to think outside the box, and have creative solutions, or creative problem solving.”
I love, love, love hearing this from a medical expert. Wonderful!
Of course, it rings true to me. Imagination is at the root of so many beautiful things.
But it can be a difficult instinct to cultivate, a tricky power to develop, a confusing magic to wield.
Setting imagination aside for one moment…
Matt and I also talked a lot about learning to trust your own “inner knowing.”
I don’t think I’d ever heard this term before. It’s such an evocative way to describe these little messages our minds, hearts, and guts can give us.
You know, it’s odd. I spent my whole youth learning to ignore my own inner knowing—being forced to ignore my inner knowing, being encouraged to eradicate it, completely…
…but somehow, I did manage to keep a secret, art-shaped preserve for that little light. I tucked it away in a place that seemed safe for that small, independent, Emily-specific thing.
My inner-knowing incubated in art spaces until I became independent enough to welcome it back into my daily life.
Today, my inner-knowing and my imagination work hand-in-hand. Sisters! Essential components.
And I think there are at least two more essential components working in my most vibrant creativity, my most abundant life.
A little four-ingredient recipe.
To the first two, add discipline.
Discipline comes up again and again in conversations with artists. It goes by a many names – commitment, determination, passion, even play – but it’s always part of the story.
I always say, one doesn’t need to produce works to be an artist. Creativity can happen in the mind.
But I think creativity is always productive. It’s right there in the word “create.” Whether a creation is a thickened myelin sheath or a marble sculpture, there has been production.
And there has been discipline. At some level, there has been focus, repetition, intention, some directionality.
For darling Matt, the discipline is easy to see. It’s fucking medical school + one million post-grad residencies and specializations. And…it’s writing and publishing a BOOK.
Matt is extremely whimsical, and he is also extremely disciplined. He’s always been a gorgeous blend of both. It’s wonderful to see.
To imagination, inner-knowing, and discipline, I will add optimism.
She also goes by other names – belief, faith, hope.
Matt’s book is phenomenally optimistic. It’s heal-America level optimistic. Beautifully so.
It rings deeply true to me. And it is deeply, heartfully creative.
Amrita showed me all four of these components in our conversation, too.
I LOVED connecting with Amrita on our shared lack of work-life “balance.” We both agree that if you love your work as much as we do, “balance” is really just an arbitrary social norm.🧚♀️
Of course, this is discipline. It’s passion, it’s commitment, and it’s the most stubborn joy. I love it! And I love that Amrita feels the same way.
It also filled me with glee to chat with Amrita about how we’re always having a bit too much faith in our future selves. Our present selves plan schedules and project deadlines for a future self who is an absolute super woman.
Or, as Amrita puts another spin on it, “future me expects present me will get everything done perfectly, so that future me can have a great time.”
I can’t decide which direction is more optimistic (or more hilarious), but there is CLEAR optimism here.
And based on how Amrita and I also connected over our multi-faceted to-do list habits, I know she would agree that this optimism certainly helps us get things done. We expect wonder of ourselves, and we hold ourselves to wonder.
I wouldn’t have us any other way.
Throughout her storied career (honestly, “careers” is more accurate), Amrita shows a powerful relationship with her own inner-knowing. This is a woman who trusts her instincts! This is a woman who doesn’t let others’ expectations influence her decisions.
Amrita has moved through so many projects to land where she is now – at the helm of the MOST vibrant food photography/cinematography business. Her work astounds me. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
And of course, this is where imagination comes to the fore. Amrita’s work is incredibly dynamic, unbelievably colorful. It’s mighty! And she is mighty.
Janne. Oh my heavens, what a dream. It’s giving Miss Honey. #themomwechoose
Janne’s story hits inner-knowing right off the bat as she shares her teenage feeling of just…realizing she was aiming for something a little different than the people around her. She talks about not being able to imagine being denied the pursuit of art and creativity. Her inner-knowing was that strong.
So, off she went to fashion school in London, far away from family.
One of my FAVORITE moments in this conversation (one that’s popped into my mind at least a dozen times since I re-listened to it a few weeks ago) is Janne sharing why she ultimately left the fashion industry.
She put it so simply. “I’m not a cutthroat person.”
This feels sort of radical to me, honestly. I know what it’s like to move far away from home to study something “different.”
And while the jazz world certainly doesn’t require the same type of intensity as the fashion industry, it is nevertheless intense.
There’s a clear feeling that the only people who really matter are the people who eat, sleep, and dream it, the people who dedicate themselves wholly to the artform.
And honestly, I don’t mind that. I’m so glad those people exist.
But I think it takes a lot of courage to spend some significant time in that particular stream, then set off into an uncharted, non-bebop rivulet.
It takes courage to just own the fact that we are not all destined to be NYC jazz heads. Some of us are simply not suited for it (for any number of reasons, including insufficient passion for the craft).
This is how I see Janne owning herself as “not a cutthroat person.” It’s so simple. But it feels profound to me. I’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada. I can imagine what’s in between the lines of that statement. I can imagine the criticism she might’ve fielded for leaving. Some people probably called it “quitting.”
To me, it sounds like a person trusting her inner-knowing, realizing it was time to exit this particular stream, feeling a call to head somewhere else.
But…
The fact that Janne, a non-cutthroat-person, cut her teeth in the fashion industry says everything about her discipline. She learned critical lessons there—about commercial strategy, about people, etc. She uses those lessons in the projects she is truly suited for, to fabulous effect.
Optimism and imagination are completely interwoven in Janne’s work. I can’t imagine how to separate them.
This woman takes her love of gardening. She grows stunning things all throughout the year. She calls on her design training to assemble gorgeous vignettes (bouquets of home-grown flowers arranged in whatever containers Janne feels inspired to use, furniture, various little treasures, perhaps a recently-inhabited bird’s nest).
Then, using only natural light (there is something so enchanting about this), Janne photographs her designs in breathtaking portrait style. And after she’s done all of that, she shares her work on Instagram, a platform where she cultivates real friendships, precious friendships, with other artists and anyone who is moved by her work.
“My little piece of art has gone out and into the world, and it’s joined all the other little pieces that I’ve created to make one lovely visual scene. It’s like my diary of the year…a gentle stroll through the seasons.”
See what I’m talking about? This is the stuff of dreams – brimming with imagination, and with optimism. There is hope and joy and brilliance in every component. It’s perfectly Janne.
Now, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that there is no perfect roadmap for creativity. There’s no one-size-fits-all. No archetype broad enough to satisfy our myriad stories.
But…these four ingredients feel like a pretty solid start.
I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open, but I think this might be most of all there is to it.
In any order, on any timeline, with any manner of bespoke-ing (bespokening?)…
Develop and trust an inner-knowing. Imagine a future, a vision, something that doesn’t yet exist. Apply discipline, give the best of what you have. Believe so hard in your vision that you’re willing to point your whole life at it.
*Optional: Sprinkle with sea salt.
Love,
Emily
P.S. Me and sweet Matty at our 7th grade choir concert. 🥹
