We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ariane Callender a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ariane, 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?
I love this question because the first thing that came to mind sounds counterintuitive. I’ve found that one of the best ways to keep my creativity alive is to stop creating.
Rather, to take a pause from creating.
I find when I’m creating works of abstract art back to back, I end up painting the same thing just in slightly different colors. It starts to feel robotic and the exact opposite of creative.
I recently went through a period like this – where I felt like I was creating the same piece five times. So I decided to take a pause, put down the brushes, and stepped away from my studio and Instagram. This pause lasted nearly three months! And it was exactly what I needed.
During that time, I explored and observed other forms of art and artistry unrelated to painting. I listened to a podcast covering influential hip hop artists from the past 50 years, watched a variety of dancers and dance styles on YouTube, and learned about improv from Amy Poehler on MasterClass.
It all sounds completely random, but in each of these experiences, I was exposed to an art expression I knew little about, and there’s something really inspiring about seeing the creative process behind these works of art and how they come to life.
I’m not quite sure how to articulate it, but these brief studies of music, dance, and spontaneous theater sparked new concepts that I wanted to translate into my paintings and reinvigorated my creativity.
I’m back in the studio now, and I just completed my first work of 2024. As I was creating this piece, I could feel and see rhythm, movement, and spontaneity come alive on the canvas in one of my most creative expressions to date.
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’m an abstract artist based in Seattle, and I’m not shy about using bright colors in my work. I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and have been exposed to art, in many forms, from a young age. I think New Orleans profoundly influenced my creative spirit with its vibrant history, culture, and traditions.
Oftentimes I paint from an emotional place and rely on painting to help me process things happening in my life or in the world around me. Last year, I was impacted by the massive layoffs affecting so many people in the workforce. It was the first layoff I experienced, and it rocked my world more than I anticipated.
During that time, I created three of my most profound works: ‘Rainbow in Someone’s Cloud’, ‘There’s Magic at the Bottom of the Ocean‘ and ‘Your Flowers Will Bloom. These works not only helped me through a trying time, they also resonated with others going through their own hard seasons of life.
That’s the power of art; art can connect, heal, and provide a sense of hope and joy you may not know you need. I strive to create art that has a deeper meaning, tells a relatable story, and transforms lives.
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?
Don’t Compare Your Journey to Anyone Else’s: There’s a saying something like, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I would tweak that just a little in relation to art and say, “Comparison is the thief of your unique artistic expression.” In other words, the more you compare your art and your journey to other artists’, the further you’re stepping away from what makes your art unique.
Invest in the “admin stuff”: I think of the “admin stuff” as anything that takes you away from creating, things like making and updating a website, getting professional pictures taken of you and your artwork, responding to emails, finding and applying to art shows and calls for art. Getting into the habit of doing these things will show potential buyers and future collaborators that you are serious about and dedicated to your art practice beyond the canvas.
Start an Email List Now: Worry less about how many followers you have on Instagram and more about building up an email list of quality potential buyers because if Instagram decides to shut down tomorrow, your follower count holds no value. People don’t give up their email addresses easily these days so by capturing their contact information on an email list, you know they are seriously interested in what you have to offer. The next step is actually offering them something! I send out a monthly newsletter usually with an exclusive discount code to people who’ve joined my email list; something my Instagram followers don’t get.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Lately, I’ve been seeking out public and corporate art opportunities as a way to get my art out in the world more broadly. As I mentioned earlier in this interview, I want my art to help heal, connect and provide hope and joy to people, and I think public and corporate spaces, like airports, hotels, hospitals, etc., have the foot traffic to do that on a larger scale. I would love to collaborate with people responsible for curating the art in those spaces or industries. Please reach out to me via email at hello@arianearts.com if you know of an opportunity or are interested in collaborating.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://arianearts.com/
- Instagram: @artby_ariane
- Other: Sign up for my newsletter here: https://arianearts.com/pages/join-the-list
Image Credits
Cassandra Rene Photography