Learning how to pivot
Evolving to keep your head above water
This time last year I decided to jump off the hamster wheel that is London life. Without realising it this was the start of my ‘pivot’, a long process of evolving, adapting and improving my life, a yet to be finished journey (in reality who is ever finished with that). By moving I made another simultaneous jump off the second hamster wheel I’d been racing around; taking a break from creating art for consumers - selling my soul to live, because that’s what it felt like. This decision was prompted by a need to live within nature, an environment that soothed my nervous system, rather than assaulting it. When you’re careering towards your 30’s, and life starts to get serious, there’s no better time to step back and ask yourself: am I happy with my life and where it’s heading?
The answer to the above was no. Cut to Halloween last year, back living with my parents* and having a nervy b about what the actual f*ck I’m doing with my life. During this period my mind was wiped, forgetting all my past achievements, the qualifications, and skills I possess, feeling like I’d wasted 10 years of my life - I said goodbye to every ounce of confidence or sense of self I owned.
This is no sob story, even if it’s starting to sound slightly dire. No, this was my pivot. What I have come to realise (which would have been helpful to know then) is that creatives have a ton of transferable skills that make them an asset to any company, or any industry. As an artist we have a deep curiosity, a hunger for knowledge. We are innovative, with huge imaginations that can solve any (or most) problems put to us. A favourite skill is having a visual eye, this has been garnered through years of creative research; visiting exhibitions, collecting, travel, completing residencies, but mostly just being curious about the world around me. This knowledge and ability is not taught it’s learnt, more to do with experience than education.
The art we create is the narrative of our own lives, we weave stories into our works, everything from the initial sketch to the final design is painstakingly considered and developed, singing with originality. We learn the essentials of branding and marketing through being an artist, visually curating ‘our brand’, from the portrait in the studio, the inspiration we share on socials, the newsletter we write to the clothes we wear, linking it all with a clever marketing strategy.
The creative runs their own business. We have always worn many hats, the tip of the iceberg being the beautiful piece of art; artists are the sales assistant, the event planner, PR team, the finance manager, the marketing expert, the branding queen and admin intern. We have the experience, skills and knowledge of all these job titles, and because we perform all of the above in the space of less than a week (sometimes in a day) we are extremely adaptable, organised and disciplined. But because we don’t have specific qualifications on a piece of paper, we often get overlooked.
This brings me to the next stage of my pivot, the rejections. This is where it got tough, my normally quite positive and sunny outlook took a beating. Cue a second nervy b. Time to adapt and move on, this came in the form of rejigging my CV, emailing emailing emailing, connecting, channeling my creative energies into other projects, applying to the right kind of opportunities and most importantly breaking up with instagram. When you’ve been wearing the same stain splattered t-shirt for three days running and have just received another rejection email, seeing an old school friend on her honeymoon in the Maldives will probably break you. Comparison is a funny thing, something you can’t help but do. So I got rid of everything that would allow me to compare my situation with others (although you never know what is truly going on behind those tiny squares). Still, instagram had to go.
After this period of swimming through tar, came enlightenment. Yes, I was going to be ok. I’m still evolving, still growing, my twenties weren’t wasted and I have a new found confidence in myself and my abilities. I can work from anywhere, and with anyone; helping individuals, brands, galleries or agencies with all things creative, choosing brands that align with my own values (shout if this is you and we can chat!) This to me is freeing, a feeling that 12 months ago I never thought I’d feel. I write this as a call to arms to any creative here who cannot see how talented, skilled and worthy they are. You’re allowed to pivot, you can do that job just as well as the next person.
Life is all about evolving. It’s either sinking or swimming everyday. As an artist you evolve, as a human you evolve, twist, turn and pivot. And that is maybe the most exciting part of life.
Sharing my pivot journey for anyone (creative or non-creative) who might be starting their own or in the middle of one. You’ve got this, keep swimming - the shore is in sight.
*I know how lucky I am that this is possible and am v grateful