Creating as Practice with Maria Wiklund
/Maria Wiklund grew up in a coastal town in the north of Sweden and has loved working with fabric and creating her own designs. It has always been a passion of hers, but only as a hobby because she previously worked as a communication coach and counselor.
When she moved to the US in 2009, she decided to take the opportunity to actually make something of her love for fabrics. As fate would have it, she stumbled upon felting and the rest is history.
Maria had no idea how it was done, but found it intriguing and beautiful and decided to do some research. She happened upon the the nuno felting technique, took a class and was hooked.
Here are a few of the big topics we talked about:
Maria shares how she and her family came to move to the US from Sweden after her children went to college.
This move is also what spurred her to investigate her passion for creating things.
When you don’t pursue something you love, there’s a chance you’ll become a grumpy old lady.
Give yourself permission to try something that interests you, even if you don’t enjoy it, that’s OK.
Maria shares how she knew this was her “thing”
Kelly and Maria discuss whether Maria’s an artist because of what she does, or because of who she is
Learn ways to stay true to your authentic self.
What does the term “real job” mean to you?
Maria shares a very touching story of how her grandmother helped move Maria to action.
Creativity and inner voice work together
Being in flow is a sense of timelessness.
Don’t be afraid to stretch yourself to do things that you don’t want to do, but are good for you.
In Maria's Voice:
“If you feel like you want to try something new, if you don't do that, there's a big risk that you end up being a grumpy old lady.”
“It's about being authentic to yourself, and exploring something new, and giving yourself permission to do that, and actually feel that this is who you are.”
“It's this whole thing about who you are inside, and what you look like on the outside, because I think a lot of us, many of us really want to look like... We put on all this stuff because we want to be something.”
“It can't just be inspiration. It has to be hard work, too, because otherwise, at the end of the day, I have to make some money off of what I'm doing, right?”
“When we acknowledge that a real job can be many different things, It doesn't have to be being employed by someone. It doesn't have to be having the steady paycheck.”