The Flip of A Switch
December 4, 2019/ Garrett Smith
Getting out of bed each morning can be one of the toughest things we do as humans. Our bed is filled with comfort and peace and we willingly choose to exit that space and expose ourselves to the dangers of the outside world. Spark creatives not only exit their beds every morning but they activate their creative energy each and every day. They are waiting at a moment’s notice to take an aesthetic shot, or collect the next best accessory and even write a story with a thrilling narrative. This ability takes practice and comes with a hidden motive that inspires these spark creatives.
Surrounded by printed photographs growing up, junior Anna Droddy has always felt connected to photography as she would analyze these tangible photos. On family vacations she would receive a disposable camera to capture the memories that she made. “I just remember being taught that it was important to remember,” Droddy said. Continuing into college, Anna was encouraged to join Spark to pursue photography and showcase her talents. In Spark, Anna has worked hard to cultivate her images into a high fashion aesthetic through her competitive nature. “I'm very competitive ... and it's not even against other people, it's against myself,” Droddy said. “I'll take the same photo over and over again until it's up to the standard that I want and I keep doing it until it's perfect.” Anna is dedicated to capturing the best photo and that is what activates her talent. It is through her competitive nature that she challenges herself to create her best work.
Reflecting on your heart and being open to your audience allows for creativity to flow. Journalism major Jade Fabello has purposefully worked on identifying as a creative as he has explored creative writing and public speaking. After speaking with friends in the creative space he found himself adopting journalism and ever since then he has connected with writing. “The way I engage with the world is through reflecting on my thoughts and all my emotions and I try to put that out into the stuff that I create,” Jade said. To Jade the writing process is deliberate, however, a lot of it is activated by speaking from the heart and speaking as one does every day. The intentional part of the process goes hand-in-hand with discovering the motivation to create and uncovering the desire to write. Jade says, “I'm motivated by my own desire to create and to put the force of my heart out there into the world. I get some kind of satisfaction out of that process of showcasing what I think, believe and feel.” By Jade connecting with his audience and expressing vulnerability to them, he has a surge of creative energy that aids him in activating his creative talents.
When shopping, Kaden Green always invites his friends to tag along in the experience. His friends play a major role in his motivation for styling. “When it comes to styling with my friends (they) are all really stylish, (so) they definitely inspire me and help me,” Green says. Beyond his friends, Kaden looks for inspiration in past decades and through media and film. Every aspect of daily life is inspiration to a Spark creative because of the variety of things we are exposed to on a regular basis. Colors, silhouettes, angles, etc. play a role in influencing a creative to change their perspective and inspire action. Kaden thinks of activate as, “creatively compiling everybody's ideas into one cohesive element, so activate just means to inspire”. As humans we inspire each other on a regular basis. From creatives to non-creatives we each have natural born skills that guide us in inspiring others. •
graphics: Izellah Wang
layout: Anai Moreno & Maya Shaddock
photographer: Nicole Bolar
stylist: Luiza Gruntmane
hmua: Lauren Bacher
model: Justice Beverley
View the full spread as it appeared in Issue No. 13 here.