Is your creativity something that you’ve been keeping locked up in a closet? A lot of people struggle to find a balance between artistic creative freedom and making a living. If you’re looking to find your creative calling, you’ve got a lot of choices and opportunities.
Embracing Happiness
As many professional artists will tell you, finding happiness is about doing what you love. Yes, you can do this without making a living at it. But then, you may feel that you can’t connect the dots between your artistic soul and your daily life.
You may find happiness in planting a garden, designing a room, or painting a picture. These activities are rewarding, healthy, and stress relieving. Yet, they don’t handle the age-old question, “How do I make a living?”
That’s why professional artists and people working in creative fields know that a rewarding career can be creative. In simple terms, finding the balance often means questioning the idea that art shouldn’t be commercial.
Exploring Innovation
For many creative people, art is only ‘art’ when it is done for oneself. Yet, professional creative people know this isn’t the whole story.
Commercial isn’t a dirty word. It’s a practical one. It means that you’re working within structures and guidelines to create beauty. Yes, it’s different from solo creativity. You aren’t working alone. You aren’t working in a completely open sphere with unlimited time, budget, or scope. You’re working within the parameters of a specific project. This usually means you’re balancing your ideas with those of a client, a budget, and a timeline.
In many ways, this demands a greater degree of innovation. You’ll work within these coordinates to deliver unique solutions that blend design, practical needs. You’ll invent new ways to approach and solve problems, taking your design skills to a higher level.
Finding Your Place
If you’re considering a creative career, it helps to investigate what you love doing. Perhaps you have always enjoyed sketching, envisioning the invisible, and designing spaces to bring people together. Your friends and family know this is what you love doing. That’s why when they are creating a new patio or considering a house remodel, you are the first person they contact.
If this sounds like you, you’re probably already considering a career in architecture. You may have already been curious about what’s possible with an online architecture degree. If you are always mucking around in the garden, creating rock walls, and building new installations – you may have a knack for landscape architecture. On the other hand, you might find that you’re a natural when it comes to interior spaces, design, and décor.
By understanding your natural skills, you can bring your creativity to new heights. It’s entirely possible to explore your creativity in an exciting new career.
Accessing Your Creativity
Whether you’re just starting out or you’re looking to make a career change, consider your current priorities.
Do you like to work alone, or do you prefer to collaborate? Do you enjoy visualizing buildings and landscapes? Do you love playing with color, fabric, and pattern? Do you focus on how people communicate, interact, and relate? Do you find math and engineering fascinating? By finding your natural creative skills, you can focus on the career path that is best for you.
Growing Your Zone
The most successful creative professionals know that they don’t have to have all the answers instantly. Finding the answer for your career can be something that takes shape over time, and with the help of others.
For example, if you are exploring your creativity as an artist – start today. Spend time being creative, right here and right now. Research confirms that creativity grows by using it. The more you do – the more you have.
As you grow in your zone, talk to people already working in fields that you find intriguing. Contact a local professional and ask for an interview. Find out how they got into doing their work. Explore ways to spend a day in their office. Even if you’re just getting coffee, sorting projects, or answering the phones – you’ll discover a lot about the career.
Meeting Your Tribe
As you explore your creative career from different angles, at times you may feel lonely or isolated. One of the most exciting things about finding your creativity is that you can find your tribe. You’ll meet like-minded people who understand what you care about.
Sum Up
As you discover your creative calling, you’ll discover the joy of finding your creative home-zone.
