Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelli Perrault. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelli , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I absolutely wish I had started my creative career sooner. I was always drawn to arts and crafts even in elementary school, and even through high school I had a habit of doodling in the margins of my notebooks when I was supposed to be taking, well, notes. The repeated messages I got about career and my future were that art was impractical, and “not a real job.” So I took the conventional path and got a degree in a practical field, and tried for years to push my creativity toward the back burner. However, I was unable to really ever get it to be quiet. It pushed through in all of my work – taking over drawing the chalkboard signs at my retail job, to the point where I was getting requests from other departments for signs in my style.

I don’t think any time is truly wasted, because I learned valuable lessons from the path that I took that have been helpful to me in running a business, but I do look back and wish I had embraced being an artist instead of trying to suppress it. There were people along the way who encouraged me, but it was my inner critic who kept telling me “you’re not a real artist because (insert insecurity here).” I often wonder how many wonderful things I would have created had I been able to quiet that voice a bit sooner.

Because I know now that artistic careers are absolutely valid and important, and also that I can contribute to this world in artistic ways and still be a valuable part of the community. Art is all around us, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s why it is so often devalued – because it’s not a resource that is rare, it’s not precious. And that couldn’t be further from the truth! Art and creativity are, I feel, some of the most precious qualities that we have as humans. It is an inherent human quality – I’ve never met a person who isn’t, in their own way, creative.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My story is both unconventional and yet probably not terribly unique. In short, I am where I am because nothing went according to plan. I studied finance, and graduated just in time for the economic collapse at 23. I got married and it fell apart within months. I was in a car crash and ended up with a life-changing chronic health condition at 24. I got a practical job with great health insurance and a few years later was laid off at 30. I started my own graphic design business only to be sidelined by a global pandemic just as I started to build up my clientele at 34. And just this year, at 37, I was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer and had to stop work to undergo treatment.

Plans are delicate things, but I am not. I have discovered that I am capable of handling when things fall completely apart, and that I will ultimately be okay, even if I am also profoundly changed. That sort of thing makes a person brave, sometimes in spite of themselves. 23 year old me would absolutely melt into a puddle of nerves and tears if she knew how her life was going to go. Nearly-Forty-Year-Old year old me knows that I can take risks and fail completely and get back up.

Because of that bravery, I’ve been able to try things I’d otherwise have seen as too silly or impractical to waste time on. I’ve taken on an attitude of “why the hell not?” when deciding whether or not to try new things. And now I know how to screen print, linocut, paint with acrylics and oils and watercolor and pastels, make stickers, shirts and hats, and have mastered many aspects of digital art, and know how to make websites for retail shops, podcasts, writers and more. I’ve faced failure so many times it doesn’t really scare me anymore. It’s no longer the unknown.

And it shows up in my work in a surprising way. I feel like someone hearing my story might assume my work would take on a dark atmosphere, what with all the hurt and disappointment. But it’s actually caused the opposite effect. I’ve found that in my darkest moments, what has helped me has been to create things that make me happy. Often times, the most inconsequential images and objects are the most helpful. I have countless houseplants. They don’t do anything but sit in the windowsill, and yet they make me ridiculously happy to have them, and getting a new one is always a dopamine rush. Coloring with my kids using cheap markers and printer paper is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. My work, which often uses lots of bright colors and light-hearted imagery and phrases, reflects this feeling of joy and enchantments. I mean, I named my business The Pleasant Creative for a reason!

Because that’s the feeling I hope to convey to people – that line in Closer to Fine resonates with me almost daily;

“darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable/And lightness has a call that’s hard to hear” (I had a bit of an epiphany this summer after seeing the Barbie movie and got on an Indigo Girls kick.)

There’s so much to be serious about in the world, so much to think about, so many problems that need solving, it feels never ending. It can get to the point where it feels like there’s no time to feel good about things. That’s (hopefully) where I come in, sprinkling moments of joy and everyday magic in between the dark things that command our attention. I actively try to be the lightness, and I’m trying to make it easier for people to hear, not just myself but their own creativity and lightness.

I make things that make people feel happy, and I’m really proud of that. There’s something magical about seeing someone light up when they’re having a bad day – there’s a power in that ability that I think we can easily discount. Silliness is powerful, making people feel good is powerful, maybe even more powerful than making them feel bad can be. It’s definitely harder to do.

In addition to my physical work, which includes digital artwork and downloadable goodies (I currently have a disco witch sticker pack, which I’m working to expand into a full deck next year), and physical items such as shirts, hats, totes, which I make using low-tech processes such as screen printing and Lino cut printing, I’ve also started work on a project I hope will help others to unlock their creative talents. I believe we are all creative in one way or another, and it’s just a matter of practicing it regularly. In the coming months I’ll be hosting Which Craft Wednesdays, where aspiring creative magicians will meet virtually to follow along as I guide everyone through a simple craft – think elementary art lessons, but for nostalgic grown ups. The point isn’t to make a masterpiece or a piece of home decor. It’s to experience creative joy, for an hour in a regular day.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Treat them with not only respect, but reverence! I’m sure that sounds strange, me basically asking to be revered for my career choice, but I truly hold artists and creatives in such high esteem – it’s hard work bearing a part of your soul to the world. The risk is being rejected, something many people fear so highly that they never allow themselves to be vulnerable, which is a tragedy. Artists help us to feel, and that’s a form of real-life magic.

What would we do without art? No stories, no movies, no shows – things that make us laugh and cry and feel every emotion on the spectrum of human experience. Paintings can bring people to tears, or to blows. A hand crochet afghan or a gifted quilt often becomes a prized family heirloom. Find me an excel table that will do all (any) of that.

And if we can’t bring our society to treat artists like the absolute magic makers they are, I hope that we can at least begin to treat their jobs like the real jobs they are. The idea that they’re only suitable for hobbies and children’s play time is what caused me to fight against this calling I love so much.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The fact that it is the one career I know of that can bleed into the rest of your life and not necessarily be a bad thing. It makes the rest of my life richer in a multitude of ways. I can tap into my knowledge of storytelling to help my kids when they’re struggling with some life lesson. I can draw a picture of that great idea I have that I can’t seem to put into words. I can watch a movie and understand the layers that others might not because of my knowledge of art history that not everyone has sought out the way I do.

I’m definitely not saying that there is no danger of letting it crowd out the rest of your life, but overall, it’s a great asset to my life as opposed to a separate part of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pleasantcreative.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pleasantcreative.co/

Image Credits
Headshot – Melissa Campos/Purple Jumpsuit photo – Hayley Johns