Self-Care as part of our Creative Practice.

As I reflect on my past two years of independent creative practice, I realize how I have neglected my self in the process (even though a main reason for quitting my 9-5 was for my mental and physical health.) Somewhere during the process of establishing my own business, I put my chronic illnesses and mental state aside, (as if they could be ignored,) and worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week, eating powdered food, and depending on AI to supplement my own creativity. In the pursuit of maximum selfless productivity, I burnt out. It was not a sudden explosion, but rather a gradual dimming of a flame; my creative light. This year, as a long term consequence of taking myself out of my work, I've been struggling with motivation, deadlines, and inspiration. My creative output has been on a steady decline, and it's clear to me now that self-care is not just a nicety, but a necessity for any creative practice.

Human creativity is a product of self

Good creative work can only come from a healthy, nourished and balanced self. An exhausted, sick and unstable self cannot maintain constant creative output in the long run and will struggle to meaningfully create quality work. Care for quality cannot come at the expense of care for self. And eventually such a self ceases to be creative at all. This is not just about individual creativity, but also about our collective ability to care for the world. You may have heard the saying "Hurt people hurt people," well theres more to this. Tired people are less empathetic, stressed people are prone to unkindness, and a low emotional capacity results in unnecessary conflicts. We must prioritize our self-care if we want to create a better world.

Quality takes time, but so does care.

From the start, I've been committed to quality and affordability, over quantity or speed. For example, I've taken longer to complete architectural projects, pouring more time and attention into each detail. Our design process is more comprehensive, taking into account all site considerations, and as a result our drawings are more detailed than the typical draftsperson's. But this commitment to quality and affordability has come at a cost: I've had to juggle multiple projects to maintain my life and business. In an misguided effort to manage all of this, I worked 80-hour weeks, sacrificing my own well-being in the process, despite the toll it took on my ability to function.

Caring for the world begins with caring for self

As Angela Davis so eloquently puts it, "If we don't start practicing collective self-care now, there's no way to imagine, much less reach, a time of freedom." Without care, care for others AND care for oneself, any commitment to sustainability, (social) justice, veganism or a better world in general become mere platitudes. We must recognize that making the world a better place starts with making the world better for you and me. After all, we are all a part of the world; Self-hatred, internal suffering, and cruelty to ourselves is hatred, suffering and cruelty in the world.

Care as part of our Mission

It's clear to me that we need to prioritize care in our mission to make the world a better place through creativity. We hold values of sustainability, justice and veganism but we also recognize the importance care for self, as well as for humans, other animals and our shared ecology. Its not just about creating a better world; we're also about creating a better life for ourselves.

A new approach

As we move forward, we're committed to maintaining quality, but including care as part of that. We'll be slower, but our quality will be sharper. We'll take on projects more intentionally, price them more honestly, and set timelines that are less rushed. We hope you'll join us on this creative journey of care. Together, let's prioritize our collective self-care and create a better world, one project at a time.

Rest is resistance.