Art and Creativity as Healing: Finding Resilience Through Design
Creating is often more than just making something beautiful—it can be a lifeline, a sanctuary, and a path to healing. As I reflect on my journey as a jewelry designer, I’ve come to recognize how profoundly my creative practice has supported me through life’s challenges and transformations.
Finding Light in Darkness
The link between creativity and emotional wellbeing became particularly clear to me during the isolation of the pandemic. When the world felt uncertain and isolating, focusing on creating pieces that captured the wonder and vibrance of the cosmos provided creative fulfillment and emotional sustenance. Working with vibrant gemstones and celestial imagery allowed me to connect with something larger than myself during a time when such connection felt scarce.
Persistence Through Challenges
My journey as a designer hasn’t always been smooth. There were many moments when my work didn’t resonate with certain audiences or when feedback was discouraging.
Early on, when I approached a store with my beaded designs, the owner challenged me: “Why would I put your beads into my store when everyone is making beads?” Later, another retailer told me his customers didn’t like architectural styles. As deflating as these experiences were, they also became catalysts for evolution.
I am nothing if not persistent! This persistence in finding ways to continue creating despite setbacks has been essential to finding my creative voice, expressed throughout my designs.
A healing aspects of my creative practice has been my ability to transform negative emotions into positive expression. This commitment to positivity isn’t about denying difficulties. Instead, I consciously choose how to respond to them. When challenges arise, I channel that energy into creating something that brings tremendous joy. I choose to focus on beauty, wonder, and cosmic connection—elements that elevate both my spirit and hopefully those who wear my jewelry.
Evolution as Healing
There’s been a continuous process of growth and transformation in my creative evolution—from beaded pieces to silver work with cold connections, from the Sequence collection inspired by the Fibonacci spiral to the celestial themes that now define my brand. Each pivot point represented new technical skills along with a new understanding of myself as a designer and what I wanted my work to express.
A graphic designer suggested the universe as a theme because my work “just LOOKED like it belongs in the sky.” Her words for me was a revelation about the essence of what I was trying to express and led me in the stylistic direction that now defines my work.
The emotional response people have to my jewelry—when they feel beautiful, special, or connected to something larger than themselves—creates a circle of positive energy that flows back to me as the designer, reinforcing the healing power of my creative process.
Creating Connection Through Jewelry
In the universe, the entire world looks to the sky, and it unites everybody all around the world. This desire to create unity and connection through my work offers purpose beyond aesthetics. When I design pieces inspired by the cosmos, I’m creating small bridges between people who might otherwise feel divided or isolated, reminding us all we share the same sky and the same fundamental human experiences.
Perhaps one of the most healing aspects of creating jewelry is the connection it fosters, both with oneself and with others.
Finding Your Creative Healing
While my medium is jewelry, I believe the healing potential of creativity exists in countless forms of expression. Whether you create with metal and gemstones, paint and canvas, fabric and thread, or words and ideas, the act of bringing something new into the world can be profoundly restorative.
Creative practice offers us several healing gifts:
· Presence: Creating requires focus on the present moment, offering respite from ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.
· Agency: When other aspects of life feel chaotic or beyond our control, the creative process puts the power of choice and decision back in our hands.
· Expression: Creativity gives form to emotions that might otherwise remain nebulous or overwhelming.
· Purpose: Creating something meaningful provides a sense of purpose and contribution.
· Joy: The simple pleasure of making something beautiful or interesting brings genuine joy.
A Continuous Journey
My creative journey continues to evolve, with each collection reflecting new inspirations, technical skills, and life experiences. The healing aspect of my work remains constant, however—whether I’m developing new pieces for the Constellation Collection, experimenting with a luxury silver line, or exploring new gemstone combinations.
I encourage you to find your own creative practice, whatever form it might take. Even if you don’t consider yourself an “artist,” the act of creating, of bringing something new into the world that reflects your unique perspective, offers dynamic power.
And if jewelry is your creative medium of choice, I hope my celestial-inspired pieces offer both inspiration for your own practice and talismans of beauty and positivity for your journey.
