On Creating a Creative Way of Life
“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” These words by Nora Roberts is what Sushma Madappa lives by, every single day.
A product designer, painter, potter, pranic healer and a foodie all rolled into one vibrant personality, Sushma is a force to reckon with. When she’s not pursuing one of the above, you might catch her with her nose buried in a book, being mesmerized by the moving pictures, or daydreaming about walking barefoot on a beach.
For Sushma, creativity is a way of life. It is not confined to any one area of her life, but reflects in everything she does. When asked what’s the first thing she remembers creating, she says:
“Growing up, I watched my mum learn all sorts of new crafts. Knitting was one of the many things I picked up from her, when I was 5 years old. I remember being more enthused about knitting sweaters for my dolls than playing with them. I’d like to believe that knitting helped me develop my fine motor skills and train my fingers to listen to my mind. It’s also a great stress buster and a hobby I dabble in to date.”
Sushma showcases her love for everything creative on her blog and through her Facebook page The Purple-Yellow Beetle. When asked, when she realised what she wanted to do, she said:
“Being a prolific reader, it was only natural that I would take to writing one day. My on-again, off-again affair with the written word has been brewing for many years now, but manifested itself in its current avatar less than two years ago.”
Sushma belonged to an army family. That meant a lot of traveling and relocating. She’s lived in nine different towns and cities, and has spent half her life packing, unpacking and doing up her room every two years. This scenario served as a breeding ground for all her artistic pursuits and set the stage for her design sensibilities to flourish.
“A design blog allowed me to compile all my skills and experiences, and share them with the world. But, my romance with prose yearns to be a million and one things. It is almost everything that defines me and my crazy love for beautiful things, my vintage obsessions, my gypsy spirit, love, loss, laughter and my lusts. Eventually, I started writing about things other than design, which in turn led to my articles being accepted by online publications.”
Her inspiration to create comes from channeling the many thoughts and ideas that sprout in her head every second of every day. For her, being able to express herself through different creative mediums has not only been gratifying but also cathartic in some ways.
“As my creativity evolves, I can see myself evolve with it, to slowly become more of myself than I have ever been. So, in many ways it has been a journey of the self, to the self, for the self. What could be more inspiring than working towards becoming the best version of ourselves!”
To the people who hesitate to do what they love, she says:
“If you are passionate about something and persevere; success, appreciation and proficiency will eventually follow. My itch to create wasn’t always as candid and confident as it is today. My spirit has taken a beating many a times but has almost always managed to stand back up and forge ahead. A little bruised, a little dispirited at times, nevertheless full of grit and gumption.We need to start somewhere, sometime. I started with a blog and eventually mustered up the courage to send articles to online and offline publications. If you don’t put yourself out there, you will never know where you stand.”
Here’s wishing you loads of success in all your creative pursuits, Sushma. May you continue to inspire those who need a nudge to start somewhere.
Know an everyday artist like Sushma? Share their story with us by writing in to everydayartists@urbanladder.com. We’d love to feature their work here!
