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Welcome to another entry in our Field Notes Commons Creator in Residence series. In addition to re-sharing content from the Field Notes community, the Commons periodically invites creatives, artists, writers, and/or generally exceptional people to take over the Instagram feed and share their work, tell their stories, and show us how their Field Notes notebooks occupy a place in what they do.
If you follow along with our Field Notes Commons Instagram account you’ll be familiar with the work and art of Andrea Slusarski, known also as @drawingfromnature. We sat down with Andrea to talk about how she got started, what inspires her, and of course, how she puts her Field Notes to use out in the field:
FN: Is it true that you are literally a professor of creativity?
AS: Yes - I teach Art Education at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. I like to teach Mihalyi’s Csikszentmihalyi's phase of creativity: Preparation, Incubation, Insight, Evaluation, Elaboration.
Preparing includes a regular practice in my sketchbooks, reading, and being curious about creativity. I “incubate” with movement - like snowboarding, biking, or yoga. Insights are when I get super excited about a connection. The final steps of my process include translating those ideas and connections into visual forms or designs. I create snowboard and ski top sheet designs for Coalition Snow, a female owned and operated snowsports company.
FN: How did you first start using Field Notes?
AS: As a proud Illinoisan, I’ve been jotting down ideas and drawings in Field Notes since college. They were such a staple at U of I, I’ve carried my love for them throughout the last decade of my creative career.
FN: We always love knowing how creatives balance the “digital” and “analog” aspects of modern life and art - what is your approach?
AS: This is a fun question. As a modern day visual artist, I think this balance is constantly on creatives’ minds. Keeping a Field Notes book on my person keeps me connected to my favorite activity (drawing). This analog practice of drawing helps me connect and feel present in my every-day. Digitally, I enjoy taking and sharing pictures of my drawings in their original spots. I really enjoy playing with this balance, so I’ll often include many analog elements into my digital designs.
FN: Any advice for the Field Notes community who are interested in doing what you do?
AS: Community is everything to creative work. Whether its supporting your creative friends or working together for new connections, community is so important to me in living a creative life. I’m most excited to share Field Notes through my collaboration with the community of Boot Tan Fest - the world’s largest ski & snowboard festival, designed for women and femme folks. Take your Field Notes with you everywhere! They are the perfect size for your backpack, fanny pack, or in my case - my snowboard bibs. Keeping it close by is a simple hack for getting more opportunities to draw or write in your day.
Check out our Field Notes Commons feed to see the full nine part interview as part of our Creator in Residence series. And make sure to check out Andrea’s Instagram and website!