Jess Barker doesn't want you to wait for a permission slip (or a paycheck)
Jess Barker doesn't want you to wait for a permission slip (or a paycheck)
Creative Dialogue #9
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 Jess Barker (she/her), a multifaceted creative who wears many hats as a writer, editorial director, collage artist, fashion historian, sewer, and occasional designer of beautiful things.
Born in England and raised stateside, Jess Barker is a multifaceted creative based outside Chicago, IL. She studied costume design, communication, media, and history before earning a master’s degree in fashion history from NYU. With a background in professional writing, she’s an editorial director at a marketing agency and “work-at-home” mom. She rotates between creative projects in the off-hours — from developing a fine jewelry collection to making collage art and designing sewing patterns.
Jess is also the author of Multifaceted, a magazine-style newsletter about finding delight and direction in a creative life made up of many different interests.
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When did you first realize you were an artist/maker/creative?
I always knew I was a creative person, but I always struggled with labels.
In college, I accidentally sent the theatre school faculty into a tizzy after saying I didn't consider myself an “artist.” (I thought “costume design student” was a pretty good label for me at the time, but alas.)
At a local arts center gathering a few years ago, I had a minor panic when the organizer asked me to write my name and creative title on a name tag. How on earth could I fit all my passions and jobs and side hustles and hobbies on a 2x3-inch sticker?
After what felt like an eternity staring down the empty little rectangle, I finally wrote “Jess Barker, multifaceted creative.” I've been happy with that ever since.
I think “follow your passion” is great creative advice but bad career advice. It’s important to follow your passion in life, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be your primary source of income.
What does your creative practice look like now? Has it always looked like this? If not, how has it evolved over time?
Now that I have the joy of being a mama to my one-year-old, my creative routine is pretty different from what it was in previous seasons of life.
These days, I’m aiming to simplify my materials and processes so I can accomplish something creative in a short amount of time:
I draft and edit articles from my phone in little sprints throughout the week.
I have a sketchbook and ink pen at the ready for 2-minute drawings. Then I’ll add quick watercolor washes later, like when I sit down to video-chat with a far-away friend in the evening.
I settled on a very quick (but fun and engaging) collage style to illustrate my newsletter. I challenge myself to gather up the colorful magazine pages I want and knock out the basic design in 10 or 15 minutes. If I have time, I can always fine-tune it while gluing things together. From there, I snap a photo and do a few more final steps in the Canva mobile app.
I never really used to work so quickly, but it's pretty invigorating, and I'm excited about the direction my art is heading in. I might have less free time now, but I think I've arrived at a creative practice that's more manageable and consistent than it's been in the past.
Of course, I still like to bite off more than I can chew with some major projects — I don’t think that will ever change! But with those, I’m trying to avoid adding too many rigid deadlines and other self-imposed pressures. Instead, I'm just accepting the fact that I’ll dip in and out as my time and energy levels allow.
I was surprised to find that narrowing my options didn't feel restrictive. Quite the contrary! Having a simple kit of materials and a general direction gives me the freedom to just sit down and create.
Which artists do you return to again and again? What do you love about their work?
Elton John! His music just has the most amazing energy and storytelling power. It's shimmery, defiant, sexy, melancholy, and make-believe. Plus, his theatrical style and iconic piano riffs are a lot of fun.
What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about the creative process?
I’m the type of person who wants to try all the things — and although I've always brought a distinct aesthetic and point of view to whatever I’m creating, it never felt as serious as an artistic style.
When I finally understood what an artist’s signature style really is, that was a big lightbulb moment for me. It's essentially the outcome of limitations and repetition — not magic! It's about narrowing down the materials, colors, and motifs you work with until you have a pretty narrow range of options. From there, it’s about repeating similar processes over and over within those parameters to get similar results.
The more I set parameters and repeat the same processes, the more I see my styles emerging. (Styles plural, because I have different styles for sketching and collage and sewing. And that’s okay!)
I was surprised to find that narrowing my options didn't feel restrictive. Quite the contrary! Having a simple kit of materials and a general direction gives me the freedom to just sit down and create. I don't have to think too hard about where to start, and the end results harmonize with each other — for instance, in the same sketchbook or across my newsletter. It’s a win-win!
What is the worst creative advice you’ve ever heard? What would you say instead?
I think “follow your passion” is great creative advice but bad career advice. It’s important to follow your passion in life, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be your primary source of income. There’s a benefit to having separate hobbies and hustles.
We’re so often encouraged to map our personal interests to career possibilities that we forget we can simply do remarkable creative things on our own. We don’t have to wait for a permission slip or paycheck to start. And if we don't end up turning our passions into careers, that doesn't devalue our personal or professional work.
It's easy to overthink what you’re doing, what you’re not doing, what everyone else is doing, and what their opinions of you might be. But instead of worrying about all that, try doing cool, creative things the kid version of yourself would love.
What is one thing this community can do to support you and your work?
I'd invite anyone who has read this far to check out Multifaceted for more articles on similar themes to what I've shared here.
And, if you’re a multifaceted creative yourself, I would love to hear from you! I just kicked off a Q&A series with fellow multipotentialites, jacks-of-all-trades, and renaissance folks who juggle multiple creative interests. If that sounds like you and you’d like to chat about your experiences (or even just say hi!), shoot me a message or drop a comment here and introduce yourself. 🙂
Any final thoughts on creativity you’d care to leave us with?
Creativity doesn't have to be so serious. It's easy to overthink what you’re doing, what you’re not doing, what everyone else is doing, and what their opinions of you might be.
But instead of worrying about all that, try doing cool, creative things the kid version of yourself would love.
I like to think about what 7-year-old me would be excited about and what 17-year-old me would be proud of. Theirs are the only opinions that matter, really. And, when they're happy, I know I'm doing work that's meaningful and me.
We can simply do remarkable creative things on our own. We don’t have to wait for a permission slip or paycheck to start.
great read! I think it's deeply true that reducing your options actually births better creative results. There is something completely paralyzing about having to choose from EVERYTHING that exists. Having a narrow palette means you already sort of know what you're doing, and even in that narrow space there is room for infinite variety and surprise.