Cassandra O'Leary: A Creative Journey Across Continents
In this blog post, artist Cassandra O’Leary shares her journey and wisdom in her own words, offering invaluable advice for aspiring creatives. From embracing lifelong learning to trusting in the creative process, Cassandra emphasizes the importance of curiosity, experimentation, and taking breaks. Her story is a testament to the power of persistence and exploration in the artistic journey.
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After school I studied Advertising with a specialisation in Graphic Design. This was a bit of a shock to everyone around me as I hadn’t done art at school, even though I love to draw. But I do think that me and design were mean’t for each other, I am one of those people who will buy things for the packaging, I have boxes of unused notebooks because I love the cover designs, I am just drawn to colour and cool designs. After Advertising school I moved to live in Egypt and worked there for just over a year before meeting my future husband and moving to Germany. After Germany I moved to Turkey where I wasn’t able to work and this is where I started to study photography. Turkey is a fantastically photographic country and I learn’t a lot while living there and cried my eyes out when I had to leave. Next up was Spain which is where my two kiddies where born. I spent a lot of time in Spain practising photography and Illustration. By the time I moved to Japan I realised just how interconnected all my passions in life were. They feed each other all the time. Now I am currently living in Vienna in Austria and I have spent the last few years working on improving my creative skills to use them to solve design problems and create objects and services that other people can appreciate and use. I want to create things that make other people feel happy, calm and content. I want to create things that people can use and enjoy.
A Defining Moment
I have always been drawn to a creative life. I feel like it is just part of who I am, but it wasn’t until my mom retired and she started to create the most amazing art that I figure out how creative my mom is and if I have inherited even a fraction of it I will be forever grateful. Seeing my mom work so hard and achieve so much really is inspiring to me and pushes me to keep trying.
The Biggest Obstacles
Everyone has their fair share of obstacles and challenges. They are our opportunities to grow and learn and sometimes what we need to build up our resilience. Psychologically my biggest challenge has always been lack of confidence in my abilities or talent. I have read and researched a lot on mindset over the years and this is a constant work in progress.
Another challenge for me has always been location and travel. I move countries every few years and with that comes a lot of challenges. Each time it’s a new start and with kids and schools and everything else life demands it can be pretty stressful. During these times it is difficult to practise with any kind of consistency but having a creative outlet is a blessing for me as it is somewhere I can escape to when I need it. I really do love what I do.
Significant moments
Life is full of these. You can trace back where things started and sometimes only see the significant moment in hindsight. Getting into a competitive advertising school was a significant moment, it was when I truly believed that I could create. Moving to Turkey and not being able to work was a significant moment as it pushed me to find ways to further my education and branch out. Having my first child pushed me creatively with photography and led me to my ClickPro member where I learn’t even more and made some lasting photographic connections. Becoming a Lensbaby Ambassador was a very meaningful moment for me and one that I think about every time I pick up my camera and head out the door. Learning with Logan and Nadine at the Flammable Entrepreneur Coaching company has opened my eyes to so many possibilities and has help me to take steps towards really reaching my goals and not just dreaming.
Balancing Creativity with Real World Demands
The balancing act of creativity and everyday life is never easy. I don’t think that there is a one size fits all here and I truly believe that it is a fluid thing that adapts and shifts according to your current life situations. Here you have to be truthful with yourself and kind to yourself. Routine can help, making a time in the day that is for chores and a time that is for creativity can take away the guilt and/or procrastination we often suffer from. Sometimes you have to just let go and go with the flow. Life is not black and white.
A selection of Cassandra’s bold and mesmerizing patterns
The Creative Process
Ah that magical and often allusive state of flow. Chasing after it never works for me, I have to let it come to me through doing the work. Inspiration can sometimes seem to come out of nowhere and other times you can feel like it has vanished from your life completely. One of the things that I constantly remind myself is that with work comes inspiration and when everything you create is rubbish that that is just part of the process and what you have to go through to come out of the other side. This especially is where I am very grateful for my two distinctive creative passions, when I am struggling in design I will pick up my camera for a few days and escape in photography, and visa versa. My two passions play off of each other. I use them both to fuel my inspiration and motivation. I love them both not for what they produce but for the process to producing. For me watching something go from an idea to a final design or image is a fascinating and sometimes magical process and I love every minute of it.
For years I believed that I was doing something wrong by not mastering one thing, but over time I have realised that the variety keeps me inspired and motivated. Even travel is part of what makes me tick, I have loved and admired so many different places and their art, cultures, foods and designs have taught me things and stayed with me. We are at the end of the day the accumulation of our life experiences. We need to celebrate this.
Partnering with Spoonflower
I joined Spoonflower a while ago now. I joined other print on demand sites too but Spoonflower is the only one that I really stuck with. I love the company and what it creates. I love the community and the monthly challenges. Everytime someone buys one of my pattern designs on fabric I am thrilled to know that that will be made into something that someone is going to use and love. It really is a great platform.
On Marketing
Well what can I say about marketing other than it is a foreign language to me and I am currently rubbish at it. I have a lot to learn in this area and it is definitely a weakness of mine. Currently my main source of marketing is Instagram and I really don’t feel like I use that as well as I should either. I love Instagram for the community and seeing all the beauty people create everyday, it’s amazing. Marketing is an area I need to work on and learn more about.
Advice for aspiring creatives
1: Never ever stop learning. If something interests you follow that interest and learn more.
2: Never stop experimenting and playing. Too often we don’t do this because we are scared that it will be rubbish, but there are gems in everything we do if we let them be seen. Sometimes a rubbish experiment can lead to your next amazing idea.
3: Sometimes you just need a walk. If you are struggling and something just isn’t looking the way you want it to or the ideas aren’t following, don’t beat yourself up. Grab a camera or some headphones and head out the door into the big wide world and let go for awhile.
4: Trust in the process. Sometimes it might feel like nothing is going right but over the years you have developed a process, trust in that process and keep playing. You never know where it will take you.
5: Never stop being curious. Branch out and learn about things you don’t need to know. Read books. Go to museums. Listen to podcasts. Join a workshop. Curiosity is a wonderful thing.
Portfolio Showcase
If you would like to follow along with me and my design or my photography there are a few ways to do that.
You could sign up for my newsletter on website www.cassandraoleary.com
Or find me on Instagram at @imagesbycassandra (Photography) and @imagesbycassandra_designs (Design)