Emily Wick is here for all of it, as long as she can pet her cat
Creative Dialogue #4
Creative Dialogues is an ongoing project to learn from fellow artists. I’ve interviewed an astonishingly wonderful variety of creative individuals about their art, creative practices, and how they make it all work (interviews are ongoing — DM me if you’d like to participate).
How it works: I send every participant a list of questions about creativity and the creative practice. They respond to the five questions that resonate most, so every interview reflects the artist’s own curiosities and interests.
Today’s interview is with Emily Wick, a writer, weaver, and lover of wild things — including her obviously magical black cat Aurora — in northern Minnesota.
Emily is a weaver and writer based in northern Minnesota. She writes What Is Woven In, a bi-weekly Substack about creativity, art, chronic illness, and life on the wild north shore of Lake Superior. Her tapestries, rugs, and writing are all heavily inspired by the place she lives.
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Do you have a creative routine? If so, what is it? If not, why not?
My creative routine shifts with the seasons and outside factors. I am vigilant about my slow mornings with coffee, my cat, books, and my notebook. Our long, harsh winters are conducive to burrowing in and gathering inspiration. In the summer, that morning routine moves outside to my deck, where I swat at mosquitoes and read poetry while my cat stalks around in the long grass. No matter how busy my day is, I try to protect that morning time as it quietly feeds my creativity all day.
After my morning routine, when I can, I will move right to the loom and get to weaving whatever I am working on. Lately, I’ve been creating a series of tapestries for an upcoming gallery show. Sometimes I will weave from 10 am until 8 pm, with breaks for meals and walks.
However, that kind of creative outburst isn’t the norm. While I always long for it and romanticize it as the pinnacle of a creative life, that kind of intense output isn’t sustainable every single day. Periods of rest, seeing to other responsibilities, or eschewing responsibilities and creative work to hike or swim and take advantage of the amazing place I live are all important parts of my creative routine.
I am vigilant about my slow mornings with coffee, my cat, books, and my notebook. No matter how busy my day is, I try to protect that morning time as it quietly feeds my creativity all day.
What does your creative practice look like now? Has it always looked like this? If not, how has it evolved over time?
My creative practice often feels sort of haphazard. I don’t plan my essays for Substack weeks in advance. I often finish one weaving and sit with the discomfort of not knowing what to make next. I’ll scroll through my photos or journal entries looking for an idea that grabs me, and usually follow that as far as it will take me.
I’d like to be more consistent and well-planned with my work, but when I try, I find my ideas dry up and creativity becomes elusive. So for me, the internal work becomes embracing my creative patterns as they are, rather than trying to mold them into an “ideal” practice I’ve made up in my head.
Creativity ebbs and flows, and all parts of the process have value if we show up for them.
How do you replenish your creative energy when you’re feeling depleted?
Usually walking, low-stakes writing like journaling, and doing something more playful, like making collages or coloring. However, especially after a period of intense creative output like weaving tapestries for a collection or gallery show, just embracing the feeling of being depleted is the best thing to do. I try to allow myself the time to process saying goodbye to a particular project or phase. I’ll let myself take naps, watch TV, and say yes to more social plans that I missed out on when working on a deadline. I am learning that the ebbs and flows to creativity are normal, and that many activities can feed future creativity even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
I’d like to be more consistent and well-planned with my work, but when I try, I find my ideas dry up and creativity becomes elusive.
What keeps you going when you feel discouraged?
My community has been key to sustainability in my creative endeavors. I live in a tiny town where I have connected with other artists who have become some of my best friends. We share openly about the challenges and triumphs of making a living from our art and creativity, and lift each other up in any way we can.
This community has shown me that I am quick to encourage my friends to give themselves grace, while I have trouble giving it to myself. If a friend hits a creative rut or life hurdles are getting in the way of their making, I am quick to reassure them and remind them about those creative ebbs and flows. I try to make it a practice when I am feeling discouraged to think about what I would tell one of them — and usually it is to be kind to themselves and let themselves rest. So, I am working on being kind to myself and letting myself rest when I feel discouraged about my creative life.
Also, on a very practical side, one thing that can get me going again are deadlines! This has been huge for my writing practice. I know that every Sunday, my Substack subscribers are promised an email from me. The deadline helps me push through any discouragement and often, the last minute essays have been my favorite ones!
I am learning that the ebbs and flows to creativity are normal, and that many activities can feed future creativity even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
What is one thing you’d tell your younger self about building a creative practice?
I would tell myself to embrace the ebb and flow of creativity, which is something I am still working on and have a feeling will be a lifelong practice. Sometimes creative patterns follow the natural seasons, sometimes they don’t, and that’s okay. Learn your own seasons. Trust that periods that feel stale and unfruitful will eventually shift back into the feeling that there just isn’t enough time to make everything you want to make.
It’s all part of living this creative life, and fighting against it or being hard on yourself will only make your creativity harder to access.
What is one thing this community can do to support you and your work?
Subscribe to What is Woven In, reshare on Notes what resonates with you, and let me know in comments about your own experiences!
Any final thoughts on creativity you’d care to leave us with?
Creativity ebbs and flows, and all parts of the process have value if we show up for them. Reading and digesting the amazing writers on Substack has been one way I feed my creativity lately. I am so thankful for the Substack community and the endless depth of creativity, knowledge, and humanity I’ve found here. Thank you!
Sometimes creative patterns follow the natural seasons, sometimes they don’t, and that’s okay. Learn your own seasons. Trust that periods that feel stale and unfruitful will eventually shift back.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful questions, Robin. I learned so much from considering and articulating my own creative process through your interview!
Such a great interview and I’m so glad to be introduced to Emily’s work!! I loved this line, “…just embracing the feeling of being depleted is the best thing to do.”
Also that first pic by the water has my midwestern water baby self swooning 😍😍😍