Casey Searles is one of those people you can’t help but love as soon as you meet her. A multi-disciplinary artist and actress, she is friendly and positive without being saccharine, and always kind enough to share her wise perspective when I’m feeling down about my own creative work. I’m fortunate to have her as a studio neighbor and she generously agreed to answer some questions about her own creative process.
This is the first published interview in my series on How Creativity Works.
What motivates you to sit down and begin work each day? Do you have a ritual/process to ease into creative work?
I am learning and re-learning that having a plan is key. Generally this is best done the day before. After the plan is set, it’s best to just keep moving without thinking too much. Having a great audiobook to listen to seems to help turn down the volume on the perfectionist chatter in my brain. So, yep, plans, continuous movement, and audiobooks.
Do you work steadily, day after day or does your creative work happen in bursts and pauses?
Since I do theater work and visual art, it can make my schedule really wonky. I really like having large stretches of time to devote to creating art, but lately it’s been in selective bursts. When I’m lucky and have done a little planning, steady work comes pouring out of me all at once.
(l – r: “Adams,” “Nixon,” “Obama” from the President Prints series by Casey Searles.)
What do you do when you are stuck?
Going to the gym helps! To me being stuck means getting caught in a spiral of negative thoughts and feelings, so going to the gym is helpful to get a change of scenery and it makes me feel productive in a different way. I also have a bunch of sticky notes on my wall with different project ideas, if I feel the need to start over again. I always add to it throughout the year. If I’m blackhole-of-depression stuck and I’m hating everything that I create or think about (I’ll be honest, that happens) I usually pick out an animal and start making drawings of it and then go home and make some soup.
Do you consider your work, the process of creating, to be “fun”? Should it be?
Ha. I like this question. I think that I do some of my best work when I’m playing around and not really focused on being productive or making something “good.” That is certainly fun. Even though I know this, allowing myself to play is not something that always comes easily for me. I like to think that my favorite things to do are things where I seem to lose track of time and could keep going for hours on end.
What is the most satisfying point in your process of creativity for you?
When I’m making bold choices and taking risks it makes me feel like a badass. I like that moment when you’ve listened to your intuition, tried something weird, and discovered that it works.
You can see more of Casey’s artwork and read about her theater performances at www.caseysearles.com.
I create burned wood engravings that combine my love of the textures and patterns found in nature with a deep interest in the unconscious world of dreams, symbols and mythic folklore. 