We were lucky to catch up with Drew Freels recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Drew, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
Creative Block is something I feel like I struggle with often, and it comes in bouts that are sometimes so inconvenient. During those periods I do a lot of research on design blogs, scroll through pictures, gather inspiration from other artists I appreciate. A lot of the time those periods offer a lot of insight because it forces me to look inside of myself. I take a lot of inspiration from personal events, emotions, etc. so it can be an important learning experience. Assessing my thoughts and feelings on certain occurrences in my life and using them as fuel for creativity. I think it’s really important to open your mind as much as you can during periods of creative block, and allow the inspiration to come.
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’m Drew, I’m a self taught Graphic Designer. I currently work full-time as a Graphic Designer for a corporate office, and in my free time do freelance work and personal work that I post on Instagram. It’s really important and special to me. Expressing my creativity has been something I’ve always found important, even when I was a kid. I think everyone is kind of born with some sort of creativity inside of them, it’s all imagination, but a lot of the time that feeling of wonder and wanting to express our thoughts and feelings in an artistic way becomes lost as we get older. I’m really thankful that that feeling inside of me never really faded, and it’s something I get to do as a career. It never really feels like work, and it feels like I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing in life.
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?
I think the biggest thing for me was acknowledging that the need for creativity in my life was so important, and then acting on it. You also have to just start creating if that is your goal. Have passion for it, really care about it. Pick up your laptop, a paintbrush, a pencil, and just make something. It takes time and effort. For me, when I first opened the Adobe programs it’s so overwhelming, you have no idea what you’re even looking at if you’ve never used those tools before. So taking the time and putting in the work to learn everything that you can through videos and research is really important. You really have to want to learn. I think for people that are early in their journey, I’d recommend being kind to yourself, be easy on yourself. You’re not going to be the best at first. Sometimes you might not even like what you are making, but as long as you are putting effort into it it’s only going to become more natural and easier. Try not to look at what others are making and compare yourself to them. No matter what, what you are creating and doing is always going to have a level of uniqueness to it because it came from your mind, your brain, your thoughts, and that in itself is really special.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
It’s very easy to let yourself feel overwhelmed in a creative career. Meeting deadlines, projects stacking up, trying to cater to the needs of clients or those requesting creative work from you, etc. You can easily get in your head if you allow yourself to. I always like to try my best to create a comfortable work environment. Somewhere with the least amount of distractions possible. I think music plays a big part in keeping me in a comfortable headspace while working. I always like to play music that I can pull energy from and keep my mind at ease. It’s also really important to get up and take a breather every now and then if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Go for a walk, eat a snack, go out into the sunlight for a bit.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @djfxdesigns
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/drew-freels
