Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ora Fraze. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ora , 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?
Variety is the spice of life they say right? Over years of working in a variety of creative fields, I’ve dealt with creative blocks like everyone else. So I’ve always seen my own creativity as a balancing act. When roadblocks appear on the creative path, I generally pivot and flow into a new project, medium or period of research. The lengths of time change, but i’ll always return to that previous roadblock refreshed and ready to work through it.
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?
In a few words I would say that I’m a creative jack of trades. I’ve tried many different creative fields over the years, but currently I am a graphic artist finding the balance between personal and commercial projects. Since 2019 I’ve had the amazing opportunity to work for Big Storm Brewing & Distilling Co. as their graphic artist. Allowing for the wonderful experience of designing everything from premium spirit labels to beer cans and stadium displays. Alongside this I have steadily been involved in the local arts community by assisting in the execution of Populoum, a monthly pop-up art event in downtown St. Petersburg – which showcases local artists & creatives. It’s here that I’ve been displaying new artwork and product designs like prints & enamel pins. My next venture is executing my own clothing & artistic goods brand named “Ultra Mundane”. It is a synthesis of my own artwork & referenced imagery to create handmade tufted rugs and shirt designs with a 90s / Y2K aesthetic flair. We have not launched yet but details will be on my personal social accounts and @ultra.mundane on IG.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back I would say they’d be the fundamentals of drawing, working from your inner experience and skill specialization. All of these are qualities that take time and a great amount of effort to cultivate. For the fundamentals, they can be whatever principles are the building blocks of your chosen craft – for me that was all two-dimensional drawing principles. By doing this, you equip yourself early on with the ability to more accurately represent whatever it is you are drawn to express. Next, pulling from your inner experience. Now this might not be as applicable to all people depending on what your creative path is. But I believe having a strong inner creative voice and being able to express that refines and elevates any artwork or project you work on in the future. Lastly, skill specialization – finding a niche with your abilities and skill toolkit. With experience this will turn you into someone versatile and reliable enough to become desirable within your field. For me this took the shape of transitioning and specializing into digital art & design early on when I was still a student. Laying the groundwork for my career and establishing the practices I would use daily for projects today.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
During these last twelve months I’ve been making some changes to my art style. This came about after working on a commercial project where the clients requested a pencil or “sketch-like” illustration series. It was pretty refreshing to work in that way. So now I’m implementing these techniques back into the more precise and colorful style my work currently depicts. The goal being, that through this method I’ll be able to achieve a more expressive and emotionally gripping technique when paired with the images subject matter. I plan on sharing these new works and experiments over on my instagram in the following weeks!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: orafrazeart
- Facebook: Ora Fraze
- Linkedin: Ora Fraze
- Youtube: orafrazeart
