We recently connected with Deana Taheri and have shared our conversation below.
Deana, 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?
As many artists do, I experience ebbs and flows in my creativity. I think the biggest thing that I have learned is to trust myself, particularly when it comes to taking on projects. It’s important to me to keep myself creatively simulated, whether it be active involvement in a project, or just consuming art. Whenever I am feeling stuck, I return to the art that inspires me, and go in search of more.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an actress, writer, producer, and director whose most recent completed film “Bill” (a woman kills her sexist husband and transforms his corpse into a puppet of her perfect man) is currently in the festival circuit, having just won Best Horror at Academy Qualifying festival HollyShorts, and receiving selections and nominations at a variety of other independent film festivals. My directorial debut “A Boy Like Me” (a boy discovers he is a clone of his father and has inherited his father’s memories) is currently in post production. As an artist, I am dedicated to telling stories that push the boundaries of genre and aim to surprise and excite audiences, no matter the medium.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Confidence, patience, and curiosity are without a doubt the three qualities that immediately come to mind when it comes to my journey as an individual, and the journeys of my peers. Maintaining a justified confidence in your abilities, and a genuine understanding of your skills, is imperative to pushing yourself forward for opportunities that come your way. Patience is also, of course, an absolutely necessary skill in the arts. In the grand scheme of things, those who commit to patient growth are rewarded. You cannot expect overnight success without disappointment. Dedication to your craft and dedication to your own growth is a no brainer to me and, with this, comes inherent curiosity. A thirst to learn more about your craft and bush your own mental paradigms is so important for artistic growth and a sustained love for what you do.
I would give any young artist the advice to stay humbly confident, powerfully patient, and insatiably curious in order to maintain a genuine joy and excitement for your craft, and keep you fresh and open-minded.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Without a doubt “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. This book, and the work you dedicate yourself to within it, has helped me maintain open-mindedness and an artistic outlook, even in periods where I felt my artistic value was under attack. Taking myself on artist dates and completing morning pages are two tools I always revisit in times where I feel stuck of in a rut. Along with the simplicity and beauty of accepting gifts from the universe, I have been able to dig myself out of negative artistic and mental cycles in favour of committing to healthy and fulfilling habits to help me evolve as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deana-taheri.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanataheri/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deana-taheri-6a70811b7/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@deanataheri7045
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