Meet Eliza Redmann

We recently connected with Eliza Redmann and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eliza, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My father died when I was eight years old. My mother went back to work full time and a half – it was like the rug was ripped out from underneath our perfect little life together. At 28 years old I was hit by another vehicle and my health, personal life, and career were turned upside down. My only option in both circumstances was to pick myself up off the ground, and find a way to heal myself and keep moving forward. Everything can change in an instant, so we might as well go full-send on our dreams and goals TODAY, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

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?
My name is Eliza Redmann – I am a sculptor, architect, and founder of Folded Poetry design studio based in Durham, North Carolina. When a car accident upended my health, personal life, and career as an architect, I was forced to reinvent myself. I found a way to utilize my creative potential for healing by creating art.

My passion to create is now driven by my changed experience of life after my traumatic brain injury. The geometries I design are inspired by persistent visual disturbances resulting from my injury. I create framed pieces of paper sculpture, as well as free-mounted large scale geometric sculptures. I host paper art workshops, and most recently have been focused on creating acoustical artworks which serve to reduce the volume in spaces while also adding beauty. I’m currently in the final stages of a contract negotiation for my first acoustic art product line!

I love exploring functional art and innovating solutions for practical design problems. While my work is indeed impactful as art itself, more importantly it has been the primary driver behind the recreation of my health and the reimagining of my life’s purpose.

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?
The number one lesson I’ve learned by necessity is that health is the number one wealth. Without it, our capacity to not only produce, but also to simply enjoy life, is compromised. Health is fleeting and should never be taken for granted.

Regarding design, I’ve learned that “I don’t know” is the dream killer. It’s Resistance in disguise. This Resistance seeks to protect us from failure by keeping us in our comfort zone, but in doing so, it prevents us from reaching for our dreams and realizing our full potential. Every time my brain spits out an “I don’t know”, I reroute that thought into, “It’s literally my job to get curious and figure it out!”

My personal motto is “completion beats perfection”. Perfectionism is also Resistance. I have never created a ‘perfect’ piece of art. Because I’ve chosen to not let the fantasy of ‘perfect’ hold me back, I’ve been able to produce a large volume of work and grow into an even better designer and craftsperson. What isn’t ‘perfect’ is a lesson learned – and I love to learn!

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Self-care is central to my life and my career as an artist. I worked full time as an architect for about two and a half years before that car crash changed the trajectory of my life. It still astounds me how deeply capitalist culture and the 40-hour+ work week is embedded into my perception of self-worth. Meeting a standard of productivity in my mind and untethering my self-worth from it is still a daily challenge. Departing from the hustle and grind mindset is the conscious choice that brought me down the path I’m on now – one of following my inner truth, radical self-care, and prioritizing my health. These are daily choices which are difficult to make, but ultimately are the most important to my overall health and wellbeing.

I began this work because, due to my traumatic brain injury, returning to architecture was not an option. I still struggle with prolonged screen time and reading. Directly after my car crash, I spent many months injuring myself attempting to “go back” to my previous life. But there is no “going back”– only forward. When I allowed myself to grieve that loss and sit quietly in that realization, this art bubbled up from my deepest, truest self. Sometimes fate has unexpected plans; instead of running from it, turning and facing reality can lead you down new and unexpected paths to something much greater than you could have imagined for yourself.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Matt Ramey, Natalie Peoples, and K.L. Graywill

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Where does your self-discipline come from?

One of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. We asked some

Productivity
Tactics & Strategies for Keeping Your Creativity Strong

With the rapid improvements in AI, it’s more important than ever to keep your creativity

Productivity
Working hard in 2025: Keeping Work Ethic Alive

While the media might often make it seem like hard work is dead and that