Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pam Uzzell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Pam, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
That’s such a great question. I think resilience is partially a part of someone’s disposition. Having said that, though, I also think of it as a muscle that can be strengthened. Resilience was modeled in my family growing up, especially by my dad, and always presented as the only option when something went wrong. I grew up in Arkansas, and, even though this is going to reinforce the worst stereotypes about Arkansas, as a child I went without shoes for most of the summer. Of course I cut the bottoms of my feet many times. I remember one particularly bad cut on a piece of glass. My dad helped me clean up the cut and I remember him saying, ‘It’s okay, this is going to help make your feet tough!’ This is just a little thing, but I’ve never forgotten it. My dad always encouraged me to take risks. Not because he thought I would always get things right, but because he thought that ultimately, I would be okay. This helped me begin to develop resilience when I was younger.
As a creative person, resilience is hard, but also a necessity, I think. Dealing with lots of rejections before getting a yes to ideas and projects are part of working in the arts. I feel like I’ve had to relearn the lessons of resilience all over again. Rejections used to crush me! A friend once shared with me his idea of the 5-minute wallow. Let yourself really go all in on the feelings of disappointment for 5 minutes. Then start looking forward. I can’t claim that I only wallow for 5 minutes. But at this point, probably closer to an hour or two. It helps to have someone to share the disappointment with or even to journal about it. Being able to verbalize the feelings makes me see that they are ultimately energy and I have a choice—to either hold onto that energy or let it dissipate. When I face a rejection, I do my best to think of all the ways that it’s an option to do something else. It’s choosing optimism, which I think can also become a practice.
Of course, life presents some challenges that require much more than a brief wallow. Some losses hit more deeply and are ongoing. I wish I had an easy answer for these types of challenges, but I don’t. I do think that beginning to practice resilience with the small setbacks helps. There are other things that help as well. Meditation, staying with my breath rather than trying to push away these feelings, helps. Physical activity helps. Also, doing anything creative really helps. I love making things and I also love doing anything musical—singing, playing piano, dancing. I experience all of these activities as deeply transformative in the sense that they help transform the energy of deep emotions in a way that brings relief and space.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’ve worked in film for many years and also teach courses in filmmaking. Since 2021 I’ve been pouring most of my creative energy into the podcast I produce and host called Art Heals All Wounds. Each episode features someone who uses arts and creativity in ways that bring themselves and others healing. Creative practices are themselves acts of resilience. Guests share what motivates them and the creative work that’s brought them through difficult times. This podcast is a great way for me to hear how others use creative practices to grapple with obstacles or issues in their own lives and how the arts can transform and heal. I really love hearing from listeners of the podcast when an episode resonates with them. Since the pandemic, I’ve also been experimenting with different ways of teaching. So much of what I do is online now, so I’ve been exploring various technologies, especially video, as a way of making students feel more connected.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
There are so many, but a few things come immediately to mind. When I first began working in feature films, some of the best advice I got was to always be respectful to everyone and to avoid burning bridges. In creative fields your character and integrity can play as large a role as your creativity and talent. I hope I’ve been able to follow that advice and that most people who’ve worked with me have found it to be a positive experience. The last two skills are personally very challenging to me–knowing when to quit and learning how to say no. I see many people much younger than I am who know how to do this, and I’m learning from their example!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
It’s interesting that you ask this question, because I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. Collaboration can be very challenging. But finding a collaborative partner that’s a good fit can really spur tremendous growth in every way imaginable and really take something to a new level. I’m very open to working collaboratively with someone, especially someone looking to also talk about arts and healing.
Contact Info:
- Website: arthealsallwoundspodcast.com
- Instagram: @arthealspodcast, @puzzelld
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamuzzell/
- Youtube: Pam Uzzell
- Other: pamuzzell.com
welcometotheneighborhoodfilm.com
Image Credits
Shantré Pinkney, Lydia Zelmac,
