ďťż22 Taking Creative Risks with Intention
Have you ever thought about how taking risks in your creative process can actually be a way of growing, rather than just a way of failing? Well, letâs talk about risk. Now, before you go tuning out â changing the channel - I know what you're probably thinkingâitâs about stepping out of your comfort zone, trying something new, maybe using a new material or technique, or even failing big and learning from it, right? Okay - Yeah, weâve all heard that advice a million times. And donât get me wrong, there's some truth wrapped up in there, but I think itâs time we look at risk in a whole new way.
In this episode, I want to take a completely different angle on what risk means in the context of creativityâespecially fabric creativity. Yeah - risk is essential for growth, but itâs important to take it with intention. So instead of that old advice about âfeeling the fear and doing it anyway,â letâs think of it like this: Risk is about bending or stretching the rules of your project intentionally- in a planned way - not breaking them. Because letâs face itâgrowth and artistry donât always happen inside the lines, right?
Weâll talk about why taking creative risks is so important, how you can assess those risks, and how to stretch your creativity in ways you never thought possible.
Taking creative risks isnât about jumping off a cliff, itâs about stepping into the unknown with intent. Itâs about exploring new territories in your work, evolving your techniques, and embracing a little creative discomfort to push your craft forward.
Risk, as weâll talk about, is really about exploration (notice I did not say experimentation). (Thatâs a whole different delightful conversation.) The risk Iâm talking about is not just trial and errorâitâs about seeking discovery, getting curious, and venturing into uncharted territory with a specific intention. You're not blindly throwing things out there and hoping for the best. Instead, youâre stepping into new territory, and youâre pursuing discoveryânot waiting for failure.
Letâs start by reframing what we think of when we hear the word "risk." When we hear it in a creative context, we often imagine failure, something going wrong, or making a mistake â and learning something from it. But what if risk didnât have to mean failure at all? What if risk was about exploration? Stepping into unknown territory, for sureâbut with purpose and curiosity in your heart.
Instead of thinking, "I might fail," letâs think, "What could I discover if I try this?" Because here's the thingâcreativity thrives in uncertainty. When you step into uncharted waters, you're not just risking what you have; you're creating an opportunity to discover something new.
Now, Iâm not talking about throwing caution to the wind without thinking. This isnât reckless. What Iâm talking about is calculated risk, a thoughtful exploration of new creative territory. Itâs not about hoping you donât failâitâs about seeking out what you can learn in the process and how that can push your craft forward.
Itâs the mindset shift at the beginning â so let me repeat that: Itâs not about hoping you donât fail (and of course learning something in the process)âitâs about seeking out what you can learn in the process and how that can push your craft forward. Itâs NOT reckless, itâs calculated, thoughtful, and intentional.
Now letâs look at âriskâ as Pushing Boundaries, Not Breaking Them
When we talk about creative risk, itâs easy to imagine smashing through walls or throwing everything you've known out the window to try something new. But I want to challenge that. In the world of fabric creativity, risk isnât about pushing boundaries to the point of breaking them or sacrificing quality for the sake of novelty. What if we reframed the idea? What if instead of breaking boundaries, we focused on stretching them, repositioning them slightly?
Stretching the boundaries of your craft means taking your skills, your materials, and your ideas to new places, while still staying true to what youâve built. It's not about abandoning what worksâit's about enhancing it, evolving it, and finding new creative possibilities.
The best creative risks often happen when you push yourself just a little further than youâre comfortable with. The most exciting creative risks often push it just enough to get better results, find new opportunities, and create something that feels fresh-whatever that means to you. Itâs about gently expanding your skills, allowing you to discover more potential in what youâre already doing.
Now - For me â for example - this looks like taking the whole concept of 3-dimensional garment design and moving it over into 3-dimensional mixed media where Iâm dressing something other than a human body. New shapes, new forms, exponentially more options. Now I am exploring the question - can garment pieces still be incorporated to tell the story.
Remember, when we think of risk in fabric creativity, itâs not about changing direction completely. Itâs about stretching your boundaries in a way that helps you grow and evolve, without losing the essence of what makes your work unique.
A third component of what risk means in the context of creativity is this:
Risk as a method of Redefining What Success Looks Like
Okay, this is huge for any creativeâredefining success. When it comes to creative risk, most of us fall into the trap of measuring success by the same old standards. We think success is about doing what we know will work, sticking to the formula, staying within the âsafeâ zones that we know will yield results. Maybe itâs doing whatever will sell even though you really donât like it. Maybe it is something else entirely.
And you guessed it - I want to challenge that too. What if true creative growth happens when we stop looking at success through the traditional lensâand instead, we start seeing risk as the opportunity to create something truly unique? What if success was defined as you feeling intensely connected to your work, intensely happy with your practice, intensely focused on bettering your craft!
Hereâs the thing: success doesnât always need to be about hitting commercial targets, scaling to the next big thing, or replicating what has worked before. Instead, success can be about creating something that resonates with you personally. The work that feels like you, that represents what you truly want to express, even if it doesnât immediately translate into profits or the expected outcomes.
Let me put it another wayâcreative risk isnât just about launching new product lines for profit; itâs about creating things that speak to your soul. When youâre willing to take risks, youâre choosing to follow your own path. Youâre choosing to create something that feels authentic to you, something that may not fit the mold of what the market says is âsuccessful.â And Iâm using air quotes here.
What Iâm really talking about here is stepping off the beaten path. Itâs about going down a road that isnât guaranteed, thereâs not necessarily any certainty, but where youâre doing it because it feels right. And when you do that, you open the door to unique, original creationsâones that arenât just about success by someone elseâs standards, but by your own.
I want to encourage you to think about success differently. Instead of measuring it by how much money something might make, ask yourself these questions:
⢠Does this project push me creatively?
⢠Does it stretch my skills, my ideas, and my potential?
⢠Is it aligned with my vision and creative voice, even if it doesnât guarantee the kind of success others might expect?
When you start looking at success like thisâwhen you start measuring it by how much it helps you grow as a creatorâyouâll realize that risk isnât something to fear. Itâs the key to unlocking your fullest creative potential.
And finally, letâs talk about Risk as Releasing Control
This is a tough one for anyone. But for creatives, itâs a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we know our materials donât necessarily take orders well. But as a creative, what we do is from the heart and we really want it to say exactly what we want it to say.
So, itâs not just about what youâre doing differently, but how you approach it. Many fabric artists (and creatives in general) love control. I get it. We love those perfect patterns, precise stitching, and knowing exactly how everything will turn out. There's something comforting about getting the details just right, about having a plan and sticking to it.
But hereâs where things get interesting:
Some of the most stunning work comes when you allow for imperfection and surprise. Risk, in this case, is the willingness to release total control, trusting that the unexpected will add a layer of beauty to your work.
When you can step away from the need to dictate every outcome, you allow your creativity to expand in ways that just wouldn't be possible otherwise.
Itâs about letting the fabric speak for itself. There are times when the material, the dye, or even the thread wants to take the design somewhere newâsomewhere unexpectedâand thatâs when magic can happen. Creativity thrives when you let go of the need for complete control. Sometimes, the best designs emerge when we simply allow things to happen.
To be clear, Risk isnât about taking reckless chances. Itâs about finding a balance between your intentions and letting the materials, and your intuition, lead the way. For example, when you let the dye bleed in unexpected patterns, or allow the fabric to fray and distort in beautiful ways, youâre trusting that the process will give you something more unique than you could have planned.
Iâve had many moments where I thought I had the design all figured outâonly to have the fabric, or the dye, take the work in an entirely different direction. More often than not, It turned out even better than I imagined.
For example, Iâve been experimenting with natural fabric dyeing recently. Thereâs a lot I canât controlâespecially when Iâm working with things like leaves, onion skins or rust. You never know exactly how the color will take or how the fabric will react. The same happens when a fabric reacts differently to steam, or it doesnât pleat exactly how I imagined. Thatâs part of the fun. Itâs a freeing experience. Iâm learning to trust that the process will reveal something unexpected, and often, the best outcomes come when I stop trying to control every little detail.
So, if you're someone who tends to want to control every stitch, every edge, every color placementâI encourage you to take a step back. Allow yourself to let the material speak for itself. Let go of the idea that you need to have everything mapped out perfectly. This is hard for me, Iâll admit. Sometimes the most beautiful parts of your work come from those unexpected moments. Treat your materials as a partner in creation instead of something to be controlled. Trust that the creative process will guide you exactly where the two of you need to go.
Now that weâve explored the importance of risk and how to view it as a tool for expansion, letâs talk about how we can apply it to the fabric arts specifically. These are the risks that will help you develop your craft and see it from different angles. I want to share some ways you can take calculated risks in fabric that will not only stretch your skills but also bring depth and uniqueness to your work.
Risk can be about Adding LayersâLiterally and Figuratively
When you think about taking risks with fabric, you might immediately think of trying a new fabric or a bold technique. But thereâs another way to take creative risks, and thatâs through layering. Layering is a beautiful way to add complexity to your designânot just through physical layers of fabric, but also layers of meaning, color, texture, and even emotion.
Layering in fabric design isnât just about stacking more material on top of each other. Itâs about elevating your work by adding emotional depth. Whether you're using embroidery, appliquĂŠ, or texture manipulation, each additional layer creates something richer and more intricate. Sure, youâre adding complexity to your project, but you're also enhancing its emotional resonance.
This process of layering in both a literal and figurative sense is where creative magic occurs. Sometimes, the more you add (in a thoughtful, intentional way), the more your design comes alive. The project might get a little more complicated, but thatâs the kind of risk that takes your creativity to the next level.
Risk can be about Exploring with Purpose, Not Just for Novelty
Often, when we talk about taking a risk, itâs easy to think that means doing something new just for the sake of novelty. We might feel pressure to create a new line, a new style, or try something completely different. Creative risk doesnât always have to be about novelty. In fact, itâs often about deepening what you already doâdeveloping your techniques and pushing your craft forward in more subtle, meaningful ways.
Risk is an evolution, not just a revolution. Itâs about experimenting with purpose, not just for novelty's sake. You don't need to completely reinvent the wheel; instead, think about how you can deepen what you already do and allow yourself to stretch just a little bit further. This can look like introducing a new texture or refining a technique that youâve used before. It's about stretching your boundaries intentionally, with mindfulness toward your creative journey.
When you take the time to stretch with purpose, you move your work forward, and sometimes, these small shifts create huge breakthroughs in your creative process.
Risk can be about Mixing Materials and Mediums
When it comes to fabric, itâs easy to get caught up in the traditional materials we all know: cotton, linen, silk, and the like. But some of the most exciting risks come from mixing fabric with other materials, whether thatâs metal, paper, leather, or even digital mediums like graphic design. Obviously, this depends on the end use of the product youâre producing and appropriate for your market.
This is a risk because it takes fabric outside of its traditional context. This is a risk I am actively exploring as we speak! When you mix fabrics with unexpected materials, youâre not just pushing the boundaries of fabric as a mediumâyouâre opening up new avenues for self-expression. Think about how metal and fabric can work together or how paper can add layers of texture or story to your designs. This is a risk that pushes you into other artistic disciplines, combining the tactile nature of fabric with the conceptual possibilities of other materials.
The beauty of mixing mediums is that it challenges the limits of what fabric is traditionally used for. By combining fabric with other materials, you create something completely new and unexpectedâsomething that not only stands out but resonates on multiple levels.
One of the biggest risks you can take as a fabric artist is stepping outside of the typical fabric boundaries. Whether you're mixing metal and thread, adding paper to fabric, or combining fabric with digital art, you're exploring new ways to express yourselfâand thatâs where creative magic happens. And, just like with other risks, you donât always know what the outcome will beâbut you can trust that it will be something unique.
The core of taking creative risks with intention is not about jumping off a cliff; it's about stepping into the unknown with awareness and purpose. Itâs about stretching your craft while staying true to who you are as an artist. When you see risk as a guide, not a potential failure, it becomes one of the most empowering parts of your journey.
We talked about a few different kinds of risk today:
risk as explorationâtaking intentional steps into new creative landscapes, not just hoping for the best but pursuing discovery.
Risk as pushing boundaries, stretching your limits while keeping your foundation intact, so youâre not just changing for the sake of newness, but evolving in ways that feel fresh and meaningful.
Risk as releasing control, allowing yourself to let go of the reins and trust the process, letting the unexpected unfold in ways that add depth and beauty to your work.
And finally, Risk as Redefining What Success Looks Like â Risk isnât just about trying something new; itâs about challenging the conventional definition of success. Itâs about stepping away from the safety of whatâs always worked and embracing the possibility of creating something truly uniqueâsomething that resonates with your authentic self, even if it doesnât fit into the traditional mold of success.
The key is taking those risks with intention. Youâre not experimenting just for the sake of change; youâre growing, evolving, and deepening your creative voice in a way that feels authentic.
So, think about this: where can you reframe risk as a tool for growth, exploration, and creative evolution? How can you step into new territories, trusting the process and your intuition to guide you toward something more meaningful and true to your vision?
And remember, risk is not the enemyâitâs your ally, helping you create work thatâs more powerful and connected to who you truly are.
