Art Beat: Being creative, whatever that means

Creativity is such a broad term. After countless interviews with local creatives across the Valley, I’ve come to a conclusion that everyone, be it a painter, a welder or something in between has their own personal brand of creativity that’s just begging to get out our entire lives. It’s just a matter of listening to that inner voice.

I write an arts and entertainment Q&A for the Sunday edition. Each week, I track down a local creative person who’s doing interesting work, whether it’s painting a giant mural for a local business, or painting a small, silk scarf with seaweed extract. Paint is paint and art is art, no matter the medium.

I learned that during my interview with local mother, alcohol ink artist and small business owner Deborah Lestenkof.

“I still don’t think of myself as a painter, but I think of myself as a creative person... I think we all have different interests and I think I found my own little thing… I found that it was very cathartic...”

When I interviewed local jewelry artist and Joyful Raven Creations owner Joy Fournelle, she told me, “everybody can find creativity in something.”

I think that statement is true on so many levels. It’s my goal to stress that point to encourage everyone to listen to whatever’s inside and let it come out. That can mean anything. It can be something as simple as taking up a hobby you’ve always thought about to a major turning point like venturing from a safe job with benefits to pursuing that dream job making money with your own hands on your own time.

“I would just say throw it out there until it sticks... you don’t have to have an art degree... you will find your tribe,” Lestenkof said.

I ask this question or some variation at some point during every arts Q&A, “do you think all people have creativity inside them?”

Here’s what Lestenkof had to say when I interviewed her at the Alaska Vintage Market at the Fairgrounds,”Oh yeah. I get so many people who say they don’t have a creative bone and their body and I say, ‘let’s find out…’ And I watch them transform… I realized I can use art to help people... it became a lot more to me than selling art. I think that really following my voice to do that has really helped me… We just need to break it down and realize we all create. Anyone can do it. It’s just pursue your passions and keep working on it.”

Marbled Impression owner Kelsey Graber is another local mother who started her own business. She paints water marbled scarves and other items with each customer, making each creation 100 percent unique and dependent on the customers choices in color and dipping approach.

“Everyone’s personality comes out when they pick their color and they do it,” Graber said.

Local metal artist and Vibrance Metal Art owner Taylor Buxton brought home a broad lesson that can be applied to any creative endeavor while we talked about how he turned a hobby into a profession. His main point was to keep going no matter what once you find something that you like to do, even if it’s on the side.

The point is, it’s for you. If you’re genuine and keep coming back after mishaps or let downs, you’ll grow. People pick up on that and that’s what speaks to them when they’re looking at what you created.

“Basically I learned from screwing things up bad. You can’t be afraid to do that. You learn every time,” Buxton said.

Valley raised musician Jerry Wessling brought up the same point when I interviewed him. I asked him about how musicians can improve their craft and how to find their audience. His advice rings true just the same for any person with a creative voice inside them.

“Always get better. The most important thing is the product you’re putting out, almost like individual, personal criticism… It’s a constantly improving and constantly growing process. As you as your music stagnates, your music dies… If you’re good, people are gonna find out about it… There’s a certain magic… you feel it in your chest.”

Here’s a somewhat creative, albeit unoriginal way to close my column, a cherry-picked definition I found on the internet. It’s from Psychology Today and goes a little something like this, “An act of creativity can be grand and inspiring, such as creating a beautiful painting or designing an innovative new product. But an idea need not be artistic or world-changing to count as creative. Life requires daily acts of ingenuity and novel workarounds; in this sense, almost everyone possesses some amount of creativity.”

Do with it with it what you will.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com