Adriana Picker
Interview by Madeleine Dore
Adriana Picker has a career many illustrators would pine for – she’s illustrated four books, held numerous exhibitions of her illustrations and paintings, and her list of clients includes Vogue, Gourmet Traveller, Mecca Cosmetics, and T2.
Despite the impressive bio and dream projects, Adriana opens up about a particular variety of creative rut that can be spurred on by doing the thing you love to a point of exhaustion.
Adriana is candid about the privileges and pitfalls of working on dream projects – and shares how she had to return to the mundane, ordinary, basic elements of self-care to rebuild after burnout.
We talk about the book writing process, seasonal routines, saying no, productive rest, and whether you’re in the ebb or the flow, the winter-fallow or the blossoming spring – it’s all relevant and important to the creative process.
Adriana Picker: illustrator
““I think I have a bit of negative talk in my mind and thought processes, probably about productivity because I compare myself to other people that can follow a calendar, but when I look at what I do get done and what I achieve, that’s just my process.””
Shownotes
01:46
Self-care – There’s a lot of stress put on the term ‘self-care’, but it’s important to know exactly what that means for you. It’s an incomplete and ongoing process that looks different for everybody, but is often an ordinary and intimate moment with ourselves.
03:32
This weeks’ guest – Adriana Picker is a botanical illustrator with a list of clients that most illustrators could only dream of having. She started with an internship with costume designer Catherine Martin, which opened the doors to her eventually having illustrated three books, and soon to be four.
05:33
Day brighteners – Try to focus on the small, seemingly unimportant things that other people do, and that you can also do, to help make people’s lives easier, therefore brightening their day.
07:10
Book writing process – Writing a book is extremely time-consuming and can often mean working seven days a week. Give enough time for all aspects of writing the book, including planning and research, and be ready to constantly switch gears to cover all necessary areas.
12:25
Decision making – Making decisions can be overwhelming and difficult, so try to pick one area to focus on and make the first decision in that area. Everything else will naturally fall into place and make the process much more manageable.
15:00
Create your perfect situation – Know what you need in order to commit to your work and know what works to block out any distractions. Adriana speaks about using the pressure of a deadline to help her focus, and also how she is productive when she can stay with her parents and block the rest of the world out.
17:41
Allow rest time – It’s important to say no to opportunities so that you can focus on your work, but it’s crucial to take time out to rest and to recover from the stress and the pressure. Not allowing time to rest will create an imbalance in your life and will be counter-productive in the long run, so allow yourself time to step back and reset.
20:53
Ask for support – Remember that you don’t have to do everything alone. It’s okay to look towards your family, your friends, or even your community to get the support that you need and to help you celebrate the small achievements.
24:22
Don’t forget to plan! – When you start a new project, don’t forget to properly plan out the time it’ll take to complete it. Even if it’s your passion project, if you put yourself under impossible time constraints, you will end up feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and you won’t be able to enjoy it as much as you should.
26:18
Don’t always look for the quick fix – Rather than trying to fix yourself when you’re overwhelmed and possibly burned out, give yourself the time and the space to do what you feel like doing. It’s okay to feel like that and you will be okay. Try to find some order and some organisation from another area of your life and look to others for support if you need it.
29:28
Self-care – Self-care can encompass more traditional activities such as going to the spa and getting your nails done, but it’s also important to remember that you can self-care through smaller, more mundane tasks, including things like folding the laundry, cooking, journaling, or even flossing your teeth.
32:41
Morning routine – Adriana naturally wakes up quite early, and immediately picks up her journal, ticking off her first accomplishment of the day before even getting out of bed. Once at work, she gives herself a bit of time to relax before she tackles her emails and her creative work.
37:27
Prepping for creativity – Adriana prepares for a brief by looking for inspirational images that might give her creative side a boost. She then starts to plan her project by thinking about composition and colour before she starts to tackle the digital drawing itself on her iPad.
39:49
Evening routine – Work often determines what time her day ends, then Adriana loves to head home and cook herself a meal from scratch in order to switch from being ‘professional Adriana’ to being ‘personal Adriana’.
44:00
Consume positive media – Be aware of what you listen to and what you watch, and try to focus on things that help to inspire you or that improve your mood. Whether it be the news, a podcast, or a movie, try to listen to something that will make your day a little more positive.
45:31
Foster, trust, and protect – While there can be an overwhelming amount of bad news in the world, it’s important to try to cultivate compassion and sympathy, and to help take action in any way that you can. We need an openness to change and we need to share our stories and our messages that will help to create change. Help to inspire people through donating, creating, and by helping others to feel empowered.
Findings
Adriana Picker Website
Adriana Picker Instagram
Petal: A World of Flowers Through the Artist’s Eye by Adriana Picker
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
The Holistic Psychologist Instagram
““I think it’s a matter of getting started. Things will fall into place if you make one decision.” ”