CWC Featured Member: Jodi Wiley
By Roslyn Russell You may recognise Jodi Wiley as the CWC blog book review columnist, but Jodi has many other strings to her creative bow. A talented writer, artist and teacher, I welcome Jodi as our featured member on the CWC blog this month.
What do you create? I'm a freelance writer and an artist. I write essays, articles, profiles and reviews, status updates, tweets, shopping and to-do lists. With my art I mainly work in acrylic on canvas. I like to paint trees. Lots of trees. I'm also enjoying drawing these days too and want to do more of that. Trees, probably. I have lots of diverse projects on the go - my craziest one is updating my blog every weekday. It was an ill-thought-out new year's resolution which has me working to a self-imposed schedule to rival any daily newspaper. Well, not quite. But it's a lot more work than I imagined. My blog is Art by Wiley - a space where I write about art, illustration and just generally living a creative life.
Have you done training in your creative field or has it come about informally? I'm a self-taught artist. My background is writing, working in libraries and teaching secondary school English. I always loved drawing and creating when I was younger but didn't do anything for years until I picked up a paintbrush after my first child was born three years ago. Despite the lack of time with (now two) small children, I feel more creatively inspired than ever.
What are your main creative inspirations?
Nature: trees, birds, leaves, flowers, plants. Did I mention trees? My family. Wandering around the city. Being in the country. Other people's blogs and artwork. Children's picture book illustrations. People's stories. Books. Paper. Art supplies. Found objects. Chocolate and green tea.
How do you balance your creative projects with the administration aspect of creative work? Well, let's be honest, I would rather be creating than doing housekeeping. As a result, my desk often looks like the site of a minor paperwork explosion. But I manage to keep on top of things through near-obsessive list-making. I'm also trying very hard to separate computer/admin time from creating time. I'm making an effort to complete tasks in blocks rather than switching back and forth between admin and creating.
What do you do when you experience a creative block? Due to the aforementioned small children I most often experience more of a creative bottleneck than a block because of an over-abundance of ideas and not enough time to work on them. So my main challenge is to prioritise what I need to work on next. I usually sit down (with a list!) and do away with all the unnecessary tasks or things that can wait so I get a clearer picture of what's actually urgent. If I get really stuck or overwhelmed I'll go and do something else: I like to bake. Muffins are good. Or biscuits. Reading blogs is another escape. Although when it suits me I call that 'work'.
What future goals do you have for your creative pursuits? More freelance writing (my first love). And more art making (an equal second now). I hope to re-open my Etsy shop in the second half of this year (it's been on a long hiatus) and sell miniature original works on canvas, then eventually offer prints. I also love teaching though, so that's on the cards too when the kids are older.
Thanks for sharing your creativity today Jodi! You can find out more about Jodi here:
Web: http://jodiwiley.com/home.html Blog: Art By Wiley Facebook Twitter
Roslyn Russell is a sewist, blogger and teacher. Her blog, Sew Delicious, is where she showcases her latest projects, designs and sewing tutorials. Roslyn also enjoys cake baking and decorating, exploring Melbourne cafes and restaurants, and hunting through op-shops for vintage sewing and kitchen treasures.
Featured Member Interview: Bella Cooke
Are you after something with a distinctly Melbourne feel to decorate your space? Or are you wanting great day out at a fabulous market, Bella Cooke from Make Merry has you covered! Welcome Bella as our featured member on the CWC blog this month.
What do you create? Currently in the studio my work is print based either in the form of home ware textiles or travel inspired posters. Out of the studio I created and run two craft and vintage focused markets: The Little Village Market in Elwood and the Bank Street Market in South Melbourne.
Have you done training in your creative field or has it come about informally? I have always considered myself a Jill-of-all-trades when it comes to all things creative. Even though I have a background and formal training in Fine and Visual Arts I have always felt more comfortable in Camp Craft and as such have embraced all things handmade with a design focus. Informally I learnt how to organize events and corral large groups of people after being a Secondary Teacher for many years. Nothing like a 4-day hike in the bush with a group of unpredictable teenagers girls to teach you how to improvise, make do and make it home alive!
What are your main creative inspirations? Colour, pattern, flowers, textures and typography. I am also inspired by the hard work and risks other creative’s take, as they spur me on to be bold and brave.
How do you balance your creative projects with the administration aspect of your creative work? Lists, lists and more lists! It has taken me a while to be one of those "organised people" and now I am able to keep track of what projects I have on the boil without losing my cool or bursting into tears in front of the sales guy at Office Works! Sporty Spice I am not, but being able to keep all my balls in the air and having a spare hand to pick up another project is like an adrenalin sport for me and I thrive on it. I am at my happiest when I am flat strap and as busy as hell, but find that my best work emerges under the greatest pressure as I simply don't have time to contemplate it for too long.
What do you do when you experience a creative block? Am not proud to say it, but I am an incredibly impatient person. When I find myself stumbling around an idea and becoming frustrated, time is of the essence to clear the blockage and I will either hit the streets with my camera, race off to the nearest flea market or do random image searches on the internet. All it takes is a great colour combination or a beautiful texture to jolt me back into action and feeling spirited again. My more guilty creative pleasure is escaping into the world of pay-tv that we got rigged up at home last year. Television may be the opiate of the masses but who can resist the endless design, travel and cooking shows that whisk me away from my couch in Elwood to the streets of New York or to a two donkey village in Mexico? The cable that runs from the back of our set, through the wall and up to the satellite dish on the roof is my lifeline to faraway lands.
What future goals do you have for your creative pursuits? Ideally I would like to develop Make Merry and all it encompasses into being more than a "hobby that pays" into a grown up girls business all of my own. I am having so much fun with running the markets and producing items for Make Merry at Home that I am creatively content with the goals being kicked at the moment.
Thanks for sharing your creativity today Bella! You can find out more about Bella & Make Merry here: Shop: www.makemerry.bigcartel.com Website: www.bellacooke.com
Roslyn Russell is a sewist, blogger and teacher. Her blog, Sew Delicious, is where she showcases her latest projects, designs and sewing tutorials. Roslyn also enjoys cake baking and decorating, exploring Melbourne cafes and restaurants, and hunting through op-shops for vintage sewing and kitchen treasures.
Featured Member Interview: Jessica Hyde
By Roslyn Russell Are you looking for those perfect wedding invitations, a print to brighten up your space, or a custom illustration for your event or business? Look no further and please welcome Jessica Hyde from truth.be.told as today's featured member on the CWC blog.
What do you create?
I create a range of stationery products based on my illustrations for my little label truth.be.told. I also do some freelance illustration and design work including designing custom wedding and event invitations for a bunch of sweet couples. In my spare time I write about my work and all manner of other things over on my blog truthbetold.
Have you done training in your creative field or has it come about informally? It has all come about sort of organically. I didn’t train as a graphic designer or illustrator, at university I studied Architecture, which gave me a great appreciation of design and the context we create in. While studying I was really fortunate to have a lecturer who really encouraged us to explore presentation styles and create by hand. Over time I realised that I loved this presentation side of things more than anything that would be a part of the reality of being an architect. When I finished my degree I knew that I didn’t want to be an architect, but I also knew that I loved drawing and designing. So in my spare time I started illustrating and making pieces for my friends which over time developed into starting truthbetold, designing my own stationery range and designing for others.
What are your main creative inspirations? For me it is more a case of what am I not inspired by, I think it stems from my short attention span! I collect a lot of old books - atlases, pattern books, fashion, advertising, architecture, photography - that I constantly flick through for inspiration. I also love old movies and movie posters from the 40‘s and 50‘s. I really love reading about what other people are doing and their practices, I find it really drives me to keep going when I am not feeling motivated.
How do you balance your creative projects with the administration aspect of creative work? I definitely struggle to balance the business and creative sides, I would much rather be designing than writing invoices. I also work full time in architecture so everything for truthbetold has to fit in around those hours which is an extra challenge. I write a lot of lists and have found writing a weekly, monthly and quarterly plan helps me keep up to date with the administration and stops me from over committing myself.
I am also an early riser so I’ve found spending an hour before work dealing with any administration means I am more productive and focused when I come home from my day job and start my own work. I guess I don’t sleep a lot, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What do you do when you experience a creative block? My creative blocks are almost always a result of being overwhelmed by ideas or having too many things on my plate. I will usually take a break and spend an hour on a different project or just spend some time drawing something unrelated. I also find that just taking a break and doing something unrelated helps me unconsciously slow down my thoughts and focus. I can’t tell you how many times I have solved a design problem while watching a movie!
What future goals do you have for your creative pursuits?
Ideally I would love to be doing this full time one day but that is a long term goal. Shorter term, I am hoping to create more opportunities to design for events such as weddings. I am currently developing a new range of products for events, as well as new designs for the stationery ranges.
I also want to continue the custom design and illustration side of the business. I would also love to extend this into event styling or visual merchandising possibly.
My main goal is just to keep working with great people on interesting projects because I really love designing something special for them, nothing makes me happier.
Thanks for sharing your creativity here today Jess! You can find out more about Jess and truth.be.told via the links below.
Roslyn Russell is a sewist, blogger and teacher. Her blog, Sew Delicious, is where she showcases her latest projects, designs and sewing tutorials. Roslyn also enjoys cake baking and decorating, exploring Melbourne cafes and restaurants, and hunting through op-shops for vintage sewing and kitchen treasures.