Dancing With The Creative Fairies

The creative process is a peculiar thing. For anyone who identifies as an artist, designer, or innovative, it's both a familiar and occasionally frustrating journey. If you have yet to hear of this concept, let me outline it simply: the creative process is a series of steps that take you from an initial idea to a final product. These steps are as varied as the projects they produce, spanning different subjects, genres, and forms. While the specifics of the process differ from person to person, there are roughly eight key phases, each as chaotic as rewarding. Let's explore these steps together.

1. The Ideation Phase

This is where it all begins- the first step in this meticulous expedition, the spark of inspiration. There are no specifics as to when inspiration and ideation can start. It can strike anywhere: in the shower, while walking the dog, or even during mundane tasks like cooking ( I got the inspiration for this post while making soup and listening to a podcast). This phase is pure magic, filled with excitement and limitless possibility. It feels unstoppable, like a wave of creativity crashing over you. There are high levels of angst and anticipation to get the project going!

2. The Exploratory Phase

Next comes the Exploratory Phase, a playground for ideas. In this phase, creatives brainstorm tactics, approaches, materials, and anything else necessary to bring their concept to fruition. Ideas in this stage will flow freely and be messy. Being open to all approaches is essential to this step as it allows for analysis of the creative problem artists are trying to solve. Curiosity is key to exploration! Comparisons, on the other hand, are poison. Comparing your work to others can stifle your ideas, leading you to disregard your unique vision. Remember, exploration is about discovery, not perfection.

3. The Planning Phase

After the chaos of exploration, our planning phase brings structure. Though there are overlapping similarities in both phases, there are key differences between the two. In your exploration phase, you're considering all approaches and materials, while in the planning portion, you narrow down your options and choose the method that resonates most. This phase can be tricky for some. Some creatives rush through it, enamored with their ideas and eager to start, only to hit roadblocks later. Others get stuck, obsessing over details and striving for perfection before they've even begun. The solution? Strike a balance between the two! Planning is your foundation, but creativity thrives on experimentation—trust your intuition and be willing to adapt. 

4. The Experimentation Phase

This introduces us to our next step, experimentation. As previously mentioned, creativity challenges perfection, and experimentation is where the real work begins! Trial and error is your best friend in this phase. It allows you to problem-solve, adapt, and refine your vision. We should consider our pre-planning to help problem-solve potential issues that may come up. However, we should not try to over-plan and paralyze ourselves into perfection. Mistakes aren't failures; they're stepping stones to clarity! Allowing ourselves to show up imperfectly and make mistakes will lead to unexpected solutions and deeper creative insight. As creatives, we must exercise our brains to become comfortable with adaptation. 

5. The Creative Block

Ah, creative block. It's the nemesis of every artist. It often strikes when we've worked too long or become too attached to our vision. As we toy with experimentation, it is inevitable for us to avoid it. Any artist facing creative block can feel the frustration writhing in their veins. The best remedy for our foul friend? Step away. Do something unrelated, distract yourself, and give your mind the space to wander. When we work on a project for an extended period, it becomes easy to fall into tunnel vision. We become too closely attached to the problem and can only see it from a specific point of view. Sometimes, the solution appears when you're not actively searching for it. Let go, and let inspiration return when it's ready!

6. The Breakthrough Phase

After hours of frustration, trial, and error, the "AHA!" moment happens. By now, you've bounced back and forth between experimentation and creative block more than you'd like to admit. But that's okay, Rome wasn't built in a day! After hours of grit, insanity, and discipline, you finally have your breakthrough!  Everything falls into place, and the path forward becomes clear. It's a euphoric realization—a reward for perseverance and a sign that you're nearing the finish line.

7. The Refinement Phase

Now, it's time to polish your work. Whether fine-tuning a painting, editing a video, or tweaking a design, this phase is about bringing your vision to life with precision and care. I become meticulous in this phase, checking everything is right and looking how it should be. The work may vary depending on the artist, project, or practice, but the feeling is universal. At this stage, we all feel a mix of pride, excitement, and relief as we approach completion.

8. Completion

Finally!!! We've reached completion, and the project is finished. This moment is often bittersweet. You've poured time, effort, and emotion into your creation, and now it's time to let it go. But don't fret—another idea is always just around the corner, waiting for you to start this cycle of madness all over again. 

A Peek into My Process

If you are ever so lucky to be graced with the presence of creative fairies in your own artistic journeys, embrace them with arms wide open, as we are not always so fortunate to gain their visits. These magical beings don't visit often, but when they decide to bless you with their magic idea, fairy dust, twirl in it, bask in it, breathe in the visionary powers, and go forth with your newfound idea! Whenever the creative fairies decide to bless me with ideas for my designs, here's what a typical session(s) could look like:

I wake up in the morning with a healthy dose of existential dread—nothing a little special go-go bean juice (aka coffee) can't fix. Once caffeinated, I sit in my morning haze, doom-scrolling Pinterest for inspiration until bam! Something shiny catches my attention. That's when the Creative Fairies appear in all their chaotic glory. They sprinkle their glittery, brain-fizzing powders, and just like that—I have an idea.

Fueled by this divine intervention, I morph into my inner mad scientist. My lab (let's be honest, my office) becomes ground zero for creative chaos. I'm fired up! I'm sketching, scribbling, scribbling more, painting, plotting, and—why not?—throwing in a spontaneous interpretive dance for good measure. And THERE IT IS! A plan! The plan! The masterpiece of plans. With this baby, what could possibly go wrong?

(Well, apparently, everything)

It's time to put the plan into action—the real test of creativity. All right, here we go. I dive in, ready to conquer the creative world. We're doing the Thing! The Thing is working!! Wait, no… the Thing is not working; my glorious plan starts to crumble. The Thing I'm working on isn't thing-ing. "Okay," I tell myself, "adjustments must be made." Let's try this. That kind of works? Um, actually, no, I hate it. Let's try this instead. Ooh, okay, this is nice. This is really nice! YES, we're getting somewhere! The Thing is working! I've got drive! I've got passion! I've got motivation! I'VE GOT—oop no, scratch that. I've got nothing… it's hideous. How did we get here?! I spiral. The Thing sucks, my laptop is staring at me like it's judging me, and the Creative Fairies have abandoned ship. This is it—my villain origin story.

What I made? Trash. Absolute garbage. It's ugly, hideous, and somehow a personal insult to my artistic soul. I had a plan! What happened?! How do you even fix this? It needs something. But what's the something? I don't know! I'm the artist—why don't I know?! Oh my God, I'm spiraling again. Creative Fairies, PLEASE COME BACK.

Then, out of nowhere, there's a glimmer of hope. That one little tweak I almost gave up on? It's kinda good. Actually… it's pretty okay. No, wait—it's excellent! I tweak this and adjust that, and suddenly, the Thing starts thing-ing again. I LOVE THIS! I'm unstoppable! The Creative Fairies are BACK, baby!

And then they're gone again…

Now I'm staring at the screen, debating if I should throw my laptop out the window. I scream into the void, chug more special go-go bean juice, and contemplate my life choices. But after some time (and maybe a snack break), I return with fresh eyes. I tweak, adjust, tweak some more, and finally—YES! PERFECTION! I MADE ART!

And just like that, we've gone full circle. From existential dread to creative madness to complete euphoria, the creative process is quite beautiful, isn't it? It's a chaotic rollercoaster of self-doubt, breakthroughs, and caffeine-induced brilliance. But every wild twist and turn is worth it because, at the end of the day, we make magic.

My work pulls from the chaotic, the things out of place. I strive to create clarity, connection, and inclusivity in my designs. As a designer, one of my goals is to invoke something in you. I want you to feel something or act in response. Much of my inspiration for my work stems from my childhood and its environment. Growing up as a CODA (child of a deaf adult) and being a second-generation Latina had the most significant impact on me. These experiences have shaped my perception of the world around me, and thus, I inherently put these things into my designs. So, embrace the creative process—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the transformative. Even if the result isn't perfect, creating is always better than not creating at all.