Bold Journey Interview with Janessa
We were lucky to catch up with Janessa Bookout recently and have shared our conversation below.
Janessa, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
The first step was discovering the therapeutic aspect of developing my creativity. While I was always a creative kid who loved arts and crafts of all kinds, it was developing “real” technical art skills in high school and college that helped me build my confidence and understand the importance of expressing myself through visual art.
Art class was not just about completing assignments or making pretty pictures, I was expressing myself in a more universal language without the limitations of words. I was communicating from levels deeper than I even understood at the time.
As I learned about the importance of this kind of work and eventually graduated with a degree in fine art, I went through many ebbs and flows over the years. I always felt the best when I was creating art in my studio and the worst when I would fall into stagnation and eventually depression when I stopped making art sometimes for months at a time.
As a professional artist I committed myself to always having a creative space, dedicated to making art regardless of what I was doing for money. To this day I keep my studio clean and organized, ready to work on multiple projects at a time if needed. I also do my best to keep my computer files organized, my desk in order and my website up to date.
It’s these small things I do on a regular basis, to avoid friction and encourage taking creative action that helps me step into my creative space and be ready to go.
Basically I just put in the work as often as I can. It’s like going to the gym or committing to any new habit I schedule it in my calendar around a day job, side gigs, self care and general life duties. I make my art a priority even if it’s just an hour or two here and there at times or a full day or two in a row at other times.
I also allow myself the freedom to explore the world and feed my soul as a part of my creative life. I allow days off, self care routines and naps when I need them.
I have also learned to foster my creativity through connections to my community.
Whether I am keeping in touch with my mentors, friends and collectors, or building new relationships with my students, clients or a stranger I meet in passing.
The life of an artist is not meant to be alone in a box. Although I enjoy my studio time to the fullest I also welcome outside experiences to feed my soul so there is something worth sharing when I do return to my creative work.
Read the rest of the interview here: