The Creative Compass

What do we do when our creative path becomes muddled? Maybe it has abruptly ended. Maybe it’s a little grown over. Maybe the fog of comparison has clouded our view of a path once clear. I’ve been illustrating for ten years and have pivoted often - from gallery work to editorial illustration to publishing. Having pivoted, I know the road is never straight and narrow. I know the importance of checking my own internal compass often.

When I graduated in 2010, I was enamored with the editorial illustrations of Susy Pilgrim Waters. I emailed her to ask advice about freelancing and to my great surprise, she responded. “Make the work you want to get hired for.” How simple. Yet it’s this advice I hear on repeat in my head - I use it as a prompt to dig deep - I use it as a prompt to make my compass!

It’s helpful especially between projects. We cry out for ‘more time to make the stuff we love’ and then as soon as we have the time, we find ourselves sulking, freaking out, incessantly checking our email to see if we’ve been forgotten forever. (just me?) If only someone could hire us for a job we partly enjoy so we don’t have to actually bust through the fear that there’s no good work on the other side of our ‘stuff we love’ notion. (Though I won’t discount the very real financial scare of having nothing in the pipeline AND don’t get me wrong I love my clients, but you know - a dream job is a rare occurrence.)

When I feel creatively lost or unexcited about my work, I think of those words: Make the work you want to get hired for. And then I make a list by asking myself these questions:

What would I create if I were a child again?

If I could hide in a cave and make whatever I wanted, what would I make? Better yet, what if I didn’t let my inner critic into the cave with me but I made her sit out in the rain?

What creative activity feels so indulgent and playful and risky that it could never possibly be a job and no one in their right mind would actually give me money for it?

I write down every hairbrained idea that comes to mind. Sometimes the projects are clearly potential jobs: An “illustrated manual for a campground” or “tiny illustrations for tea packets” or “an illustrated menu for a community kitchen.” More exciting - many answers aren’t ‘jobs’ at all: “build a puppet theatre complete with lights and a curtain” or “make a castle out of strips of cardboard.” Once I start writing, I instantly feel realigned. In my mind, I’m a kid ‘pretending’ to do these types of jobs, whereas my adult inner critic brain would be quick to limit my options due to ‘industry standards or gatekeepers or other artists already in the arena.’

My Compass Jar

Recently, I was feeling lackluster about my work, so again, I turned to my compass. But this time, I made a compass jar, and you can make one too. I’m embarrassed at the simplicity of this, but NOT REALLY because I think we often overcomplicate creativity.

MAKE YOUR OWN COMPASS JAR

YOU’LL NEED:

A SHEET OF PAPER

A WRITING INSTRUMENT

A JAR (OR TIN OR BOX OR WHATEVER!)

**You can use materials as part of the self discovery process. Write with your fanciest pen, try a special paper, find an old magical looking jar or something that fits your aesthetic.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Write down 30 (YES THIRTY) dream jobs, activities, creations, or projects.

I stick to 2-3 words here (you’re not writing a paragraph, unless you’re into that, in which case be my guest!) You can use my questions from above: What would I create if I were a child again? If I could hide in a cave and make whatever I wanted, what would that feel like? Better yet, what if I didn’t let my inner critic into the cave with me but I made them sit out in the rain? What creative activity feels so indulgent and playful and risky that it could never possibly be a job and no one in their right mind would actually give me money for it?!

Fold em’ up (or not) and place them in the container.

Fish one out (no peeking!)

and VOILÀ!

Now that you’ve consulted your own inner compass, the path should feel a little more clear and your mind should be filled with dream projects to work towards.

This exercise, like I said, is simple. Wildly and laughably simple. And we all know there is so much that goes into building an illustration career. But I also believe in the simplicity of it all - I think deep down each of us has an idea, a true idea of what we love and what we want to build. It just takes the act of stopping for a moment to listen and trust our instinct.

If you do this and find it helpful, I encourage you to embark on the projects you wrote down. Fill your portfolio with jobs you actually want - not just the ones you’ve already been hired for. If your dream jobs lean more into design, packaging, etc, you can simply do mock ups of your projects to put in your portfolio. (I found a helpful blog post on doing mock-ups here). If you’re leaning more into editorial or publishing, there’s not much of a need to mock anything up. Did I make everything on my list? Sadly no. Or…not yet! But I’m working on it. I’m working towards creating more of my own content, my own projects, and it’s been useful to have my little compass jar at the ready for when I feel I’ve run out of ideas.

If you make your own jar, share it with me on IG! Tag #creativecompassjar so I can see all the bottles of dreams.

❤️

BECOMING A GOOD CREATURE
Giveaway + Activity Kit

BECOMING A GOOD CREATURE by Sy Montgomery comes out September 29! (Which will be here before you know it - how is it already August?) To celebrate, the lovely folks at HMH are doing a pre-order giveaway campaign and it launched this week! Here are some details:

Pre-order your copy of BECOMING A GOOD CREATURE at any retailer, fill out this form, and email hmhkidsbooks@gmail.com your proof of purchase to be entered to win.

25 lucky winners will receive:
+ 1 hardcover copy of HOW TO BE A GOOD CREATURE, signed by Sy Montgomery
+ 1 limited edition Art Print from BECOMING A GOOD CREATURE
+ 1 book plate, personalized and signed by Sy Montgomery and myself
+ 1 sketch print from the interior artwork

Ends 9/28, US only. (If you pre-ordered the book before this week, you can absolutely still enter to win.)
Click here for more details.

They also put a ridiculously sweet activity kit together to go along with the book.
You can download it free HERE!

I think that’s it for now! I’ve got a couple of other cover reveals and announcements to share but it’ll give me a reason to come back and do another post soon. I’ll be honest, my days are running together and it’s tough to keep up the momentum - life is put on hold and it’s difficult to plan anything. My eyes are glued to the news. Some is promising, some is terrifying. But carry on, we must. Make art, we must. Most importantly VOTE we must. Sending all my most creative thoughts your way until next time.

xo,

Becca