Finding The Perfect Creative Hobby

I encourage everyone to have a creative hobby – but the process of finding that perfect creative activity that suits your lifestyle and budget takes time and patience! If you don’t find it right away, don’t despair or give up – keep looking, keep experimenting and eventually you’ll find that one creative activity that reaches your soul.

I’ve been engaged in creative hobbies my whole life! The quest to discover my creative purpose began unintentionally in a high school art class. I loved sketching, drawing and painting – that was my first inkling that I desired a career in the creative space.

While still in high school, I took classes in sewing and silk painting. I liked sewing but I enjoyed silk painting even more – it allowed me to explore my love for color, paint and the effect it had on fabric.

After graduating college and while working corporate jobs, I continued with my creative hobbies – I took classes in calligraphy, mosaics, stained glass and even faux painting. At one point I thought I wanted to pursue a business as a faux painting studio for interiors, but then I realized standing on a ladder was not going to work for me so I quickly gave up on that idea!

After moving to New York, I attended classes in acrylic painting at The Arts Student League of New York, textile design at the School of Visual Arts, fashion design & illustration at Parsons, the New School of Design. I learned the art of glass painting and hand-dyeing fabrics through a variety of books and workshops at the Textile Art Center.

As you can see, discovering my true passion and love for textile and print design did not happen overnight!

Every creative hobby I took helped me to define my unique style and aesthetic. I learned that I am not specifically a fine artist or an illustrator but rather a design professional who is inspired by color and unique pattern.  

I’m excited to take my design skills to a whole new level as I continue my creative journey to learn digital design skills in Procreate, Illustrator and Photoshop.

Your Creative Journey

As you embark on your creative journey to find your ideal craft or hobby, here are some pointers to keep in mind:

• Carve out time – perhaps half an hour a day or 2 hours a week to explore possible interests.
• Start with a small project – purchase a craft kit instead of a ton of supplies and see if you are even interested in it.
• Don’t start off with a creative project that is too complex, you’re likely to lose interest and abandon it half way!
• Creative hobbies help you develop new skills – skills that can inspire new ways of thinking which can help to expand your career and help improve your overall life.

Make a commitment to finding a creative hobby....I hope you enjoy the process!