Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grace Heslip. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Grace, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?
Sometimes I wish I took more breaks actually. I started very young. Being creative is all I’ve ever known to be somewhat skilled in from a young age while also having fun experimenting with it. My family is all creative in the way they express themselves through many of their interests like music, fine art, fashion, photography, production, post-production, writing, and gaming but they all took their own path and encouraged me to continue my imagination on. It was always a consistent in my life that I knew I could lean into when I felt called too. I continued forward with it into learning new ways to work in different medias and eventually into my career.
I grew up drawing and painting since I was a kid all throughout college and started working in the creative field when I was 15 as a model as well as dual enrolling at my soon to be college, CCS, to save money and starting college classes early. I continued forward experimenting with new things especially behind the camera, with technology, and using my hands. I knew I loved working with my hands at a young age but also grew to love working behind the camera and being on set with a team of people. It was sort of hard for me to create with a team of people at first because I grew up always creating for myself and knowing how I like to create but I’ve learned that when you find other imaginative people you can trust you can create something even more beautiful together that is most of the time more impactful.
I have always pushed myself very hard in my work because of the expectations of what I could become and what many people in my life had to say about the work I created. I didn’t take many breaks because I knew without it I didn’t feel like myself. I’m learning that being a creative is more than creating though. It’s the essence of who I am but without my experiences what would I learn to create?
In my full-time work as a creative I’m learning that there’s a balance. To take time when needed and come back to the projects when you’re ready. It’s a hard thing to manage when your passion starts to feel like work but one thing I’ve grown to appreciate is creating outside of my 9-5 to stay true to myself while supporting myself. Hopefully I can get to a place where I combine the two but I know I’m young and I know I have some time to create.
Now I’m growing to create without rush, and without fear and to take my time to grow.
Grace, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a creative. I love experimenting and working with different medias with Fashion Photography, Designing, Drawing/Painting, Styling. I learned to love creating both alone and on set with a creative team.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Try to be open-minded, look at it from many different experiences even including your own.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Trusting myself and my loved ones more. Having a open-minded and supportive team is so important to remember where your story needs to progress and where it needs to take it slow. A quote from someone who means a lot to me said “keep going even if it’s .000001% of the time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.graceheslip.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grace_heslip/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graceheslip/