Meet Angelina Rataj

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angelina Rataj a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angelina, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

Creative blocks can be very difficult to navigate. It’s so frustrating to not be satisfied with what you’re making, or not feeling inspired to start something new. Sometimes you just need a break, it’s important to take time to recharge. But it can be hard to get yourself working on something new without any motivation. I find that it’s really helpful to keep working in some way despite this block. If you’re not having any ideas for a project maybe work on your technical skill. If you’re not satisfied with the work you’re producing, dive into some research. Give yourself the space to find inspiration. I think it’s just important to keep creating even when you’re waiting for inspiration to strike. You can’t always wait for it to find you, sometimes you need to facilitate the environment for it to grow.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am an illustrator, fine artist, and graphic designer. I intertwine my love of music with my love of visual art through my work. Professionally, I am looking to be a freelance artist and work in the music industry. My dream clients would be artists, and I would be creating album covers and designing posters and merchandise. I would love to dip my toes into creative direction and be part of the rollout of an album, working closely with the artist to bring their vision to life. In my personal work, I often draw from life experiences and emotion to capture a feeling or moment in time. I also opened up a shop not too long ago and have been selling prints of my work. I have been accepting commissions recently and am looking to open them officially through my site. I am in the process of refreshing my shop so there will be some new stuff on there soon!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities that have been most impactful on my journey I think have been confidence, discipline, and open mindedness. Having confidence in what you do is important. It is a journey to get there, but you have to believe in yourself and your work. Discipline is also important, it can be really valuable to define it for yourself. For example, I’m someone who can have a hard time starting a new project. At times I would find myself really frustrated because I just couldn’t get myself to sit down and start. But I found that sometimes I need to give myself space to let the idea brew in my mind. Maybe I wasn’t actively working but my subconscious was thinking and processing the project. Lastly, having an open mind is crucial. I think you need to be open to new information and experiences. No one sees the same thing the exact same way. It can only benefit you to listen to other perspectives. It might validate what you thought, but it might open your eyes to a new point of view.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

When I am feeling overwhelmed I tend to shut down. Sometimes it can be helpful to take a break and step away from what is overwhelming you. Give yourself time to recharge and find new inspirations. Other times I think it can be really helpful to talk it out. I noticed it helps me to just get my thoughts out of my head by talking about them or even writing them down. It helps me to move out of the headspace I was in when I was shutting down. In general I think it’s necessary to step away and take a breath when you begin to feel overwhelmed. If you don’t take some time to slow down when you need it you might end up burning yourself out.

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