Welcome to the What Creativity Looks Like series. Every week this summer, I’ll be introducing you to some amazingly creative women. My hope is as you read these interviews and virtually meet these ladies, you’ll be inspired to create more in your own life.
Let’s get started!
What’s your name (and business name, if you have one)?
I’m Tanja Osswald, and my business is Osswald Design.
Tell us about YOU. How is your creativity expressed?
Creativity comes in many forms. My main outlet is crochet design. I love the process of crocheting, the feeling of yarn in my hands, making something tangible—and exploring and coming up with new things, like my horizontal cables. Underlying my creativity is always a sense of playfulness. Whenever I’m happy and relaxed, I come up with the best ideas.
How did you get started in your creative practice? (“Practice” is just a fancy word for all the fun creative things you do. :))
In my childhood, my mother was very supportive of my creativity. She provided me with yarn, polymer clay, notebooks for my stories, and most of all, the knowledge that it was always a good idea to spend my time making things.
What keeps you going?
What keeps me going is the support from my customers and being part of the craft community.
What is your greatest joy?
I love it when I can take an abstract idea (often inspired from topology or some other branch of mathematics) and turn that into a tangible project that is also beautiful and practical. For example, I designed a Möbius mitt, where the Möbius twist functions as a thumbhole. Möbius strips are interesting from a mathematical point of view and at the same time they are fun to explore with crochet.
What’s a “typical” day (or week) like for you? In other words, how do you incorporate creative projects into your life?
Usually, I work on organizational stuff in the morning: working on patterns, writing emails and once I’m done, in the afternoon or evening, I give myself time to play and crochet some fun project. There are other days, though, when a new idea drives me out of my bed in the morning. Then I spend the day experimenting, maybe interspersed with some regular work to give myself time to mull over some ideas.
What would you say to someone who wants to be creative but can’t find the time?
Sometimes, life is not the way that we can just do what we want. But we can look for places to start small. Maybe work on a craft project on your commute to work? Or instead of reading the newspaper, have a pen and paper accompany your breakfast and make a little drawing. You don’t have to find time for that big perfect project. Just start small and enjoy playing a bit every other day.
What do YOU think creativity looks like?
It looks and feels like rainbow-colored mulberry silk.
Okay, I love Tanja’s definition of creativity, don’t you? And like so many of the ladies in this series, I appreciate her encouragement to start small with your creative practice. Honestly, it’s these little “wins” of taking time to create that add up and make for a more creative life. If you’d like to learn more about Tanja, you can visit her website here or her pattern page on Ravelry here. (All of the images above are her patterns—amazing, right?!)
Have a lovely {and creative} day!
