Welcome back to our What Creativity Looks Like series. Every week this summer, I’ll be introducing you to some amazingly creative women. My hope is as you read these interviews and virtually meet these ladies, you’ll be inspired to create more in your own life.
Let’s get started!
What’s your name (and business name, if you have one)?
Amy Crook, Antemortem Arts & Amy’s Not Dead Yet
Tell us about YOU. How is your creativity expressed?
I’m primarily an artist, but I also do some creative writing. I use watercolors and inks, brushes and pens, and try to make things that are either beautifully strange, or geekishly grin-inducing.
How did you get started in your creative practice? (“Practice” is just a fancy word for all the fun creative things you do. :))
My current practice got started when I decided to move my business from graphic design to mainly fine art, prints, and my Etsy shop. It’s very motivating in some ways, though it can be hard to balance work and joy when it’s your main income.
What keeps you going?
Rent! Well, the thing that keeps me from getting a day job is my love of the creative process, and my lifelong desire to make the world more beautiful. There’s a lot of ugliness out there, and I love that I can make a living adding beauty to people’s lives.
What is your greatest joy?
Lighting up someone else with my creative output—I love the smiles, virtual or in person, and that feeling of shared understanding.
What’s a “typical” day (or week) like for you? In other words, how do you incorporate creative projects into your life?
I’m an insomniac, so I sleep late and nurse my sleepy mornings, and then spend my afternoons painting, evenings chilling on the internet, and write at night after everyone else is in bed.
What would you say to someone who wants to be creative but can’t find the time?
Set up a space for it and find ways to do it in small pieces, without too much expectation attached. A tiny watercolor palette, waterbrush, and pad of paper = instant 5-minute art time, for instance. Or set a timer for 15 minutes and write like the wind!
What do YOU think creativity looks like?
For me it’s about combining my own internal landscape of play with the materials at hand, and putting more of what I want to see in the world.
YES to setting up a small space in order to play creatively as well as some simple supplies. I think (sometimes) we make this creativity thing too complicated for ourselves so we miss out on all the fun we could have if we just took little incremental moments to make things. I’m so glad Amy took the leap to share her art with the world; you can check out what she makes right here on her website and if you want to support an artist, check out her Patreon page. 🙂
Have a lovely {and creative} day!
