We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rowan Mastandrea a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rowan, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Keeping my creativity alive starts with exercising my imagination every day. My style requires plenty of creative decisions, but it can take weeks to finish a step. Going that long without using the part of my brain that explores the unknown, makes a leap, or solves a creative challenge can feel monotonous. If creative paralysis seeps in, it’s hard to recover. That’s why I’m very proactive, consistently sketching and developing ideas for future work. I have several brain-storming techniques such as pairing unusual words or objects together and letting my imagination run wild. It keeps me fascinated and inspired about art. Actively seeking things that uplift me makes my creativity thrive. Watching and listening to birds, admiring beautiful textiles, taking a walk, eating well, all support my well-being and keep the creative juices flowing.
Creativity needs protection in addition to stimulation. If I’m feeling sensitive or am struggling with a new direction, I refrain from outside input until I regain my footing. When seeking feedback I take care to ask those who can have a more objective and constructive dialogue with me. I am blessed to have a few friends I can rely on to help me when I feel off, and don’t hesitate to reach out to them for encouragement.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am currently focused on paintings for my first solo show at Aurelia Gallery in Sante Fe, New Mexico. The show will feature symbolic imagery inspired by the natural world. I’m looking forward to having such a large group of paintings together where people can immerse in the language of the artwork. At the same time, I am developing paintings uncovering some hidden aspects of life that impact us in surprising and profound ways. As a fine artist, I prioritize subject matter in my work and continuously develop my thinking, evolving ideas to the best of my ability. Content is just as important to me as execution, and that is what excites me about my art. There’s more to it than the formal elements of painting. There are deep explorations about bigger questions in life, encouraging an ongoing dialogue with the mind, heart and soul.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Self-Knowledge, commitment, and curiosity are vital skills in my journey. The long-term benefits of self-knowledge, for starters, is indispensable. There’s always more to learn about ourselves and it’s time well spent. Plenty of ways I was taught to do things weren’t specific to my makeup and kept me from learning conditions and methods that allow me to thrive. By taking time to figure out the best ways for me to be, learn and grow, I unlock more of my potential and improve my effectiveness across the board. Commitment to my Artistry has been invaluable. True commitment involves investing in yourself; investing your time, effort, and concentrated attention into what you want to accomplish and become. It’s a big undertaking to build a life on the foundation of your own unique creative vision and often requires an arduous process, making commitment a valuable quality to cultivate. Achieving success from original ideas and creations nourishes the soul and makes all of the challenges and hardships worth it.
Curiosity brings adventure and fresh energy into everything. An early mentor recommended asking “What happens if I do this?”. So many inhibiting thoughts and feelings dissolve simply by asking this question. It guides awareness back to what’s forming on the canvas and decreases susceptibility to defeating thought patterns. This question has become a permanent part of my process. There’s a boldness and courage that comes with a curious mindset, infusing life into the process and results.
The best place to start developing these skills is to befriend yourself and the process. The creative act must have a healthy and encouraging environment to truly thrive. Assessing one’s inner state needs to be habitual. By cultivating a robust and welcoming inner environment the nervous system stabilizes and the stage is set to get down to the business of developing skill and content.
For those wanting to pursue fine art, my next suggestion is to uncover your originality. Manifesting your own ideas instead of someone else’s is at once exciting and daunting. Taking the time to truly know what you’re about, what you want to say, and how to best articulate it sets you up for a long-term, fulfilling career. It’s easier said than done! Most artists, including myself, have to face a lot of fears and insecurities to access our most meaningful content, but the process is liberating and rewarding beyond imagination.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I am someone who has gone all in on my strengths and I can’t recommend it enough. The pursuit of well-roundedness can make it difficult to establish your own unique style and vision. It can water-down content and open up all kinds of tangents. Originality is found in one’s strengths – the tendencies and inspirations intertwined with a specific way of seeing the world. These strengths are what energize you. They are the vehicles of your creative fire. Following their lead makes everything fall into place in fascinating ways. Skills can inexplicably leap to new levels when a passionate vision leads the way. Any significant weaknesses compromising the outcome will ultimately emerge to be addressed, but don’t waste time over-learning or over-preparing. Going all-in on your strengths can be the difference between a never-ending life of skill-improvement or a passionate life of creating.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rowanfinearts.com
- Instagram: @rowanmastandrea
- Other: Represented by Aurelia Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Adelante Gallery, Carefree, Arizona
