We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kree Thawley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kree below.

Alright, Kree thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I think I’ve always known that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic professional path, but that path has zig-zagged, taken u-turns, and manifested in a handful of different ways as I have grown. In my youthhood I would draw, design, and put things together with my hands, mesmerized by a dream of what being an artist or being a creative meant. My worldview was of course narrower as a child, so I thought that my only viable options for having an artistic job were to be a painter, a jewelry maker, or a fashion designer, etc – the careers I saw out in the world or on TV and in movies. What I was envisioning for my seemingly far-off future was primarily fueled by what I had been exposed to.

It wasn’t until much later in life that I acknowledged the fact that a creative professional path does not necessarily have to mean “being an artist” in the ways that I used to dream about. Fast-forward through an undergraduate Art History degree, establishing my own creative practice, and nearly a decade of learning, growing, and reflecting, and I came to realize that I was highly interested in engaging creativity in a wider and more nuanced way, landing me in a graduate program for Art Leadership and Cultural Management.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

At some point on the zig-zagged creative journey, I fell in love with metalsmithing. It was thrilling and meditative all at once to manipulate metal by hand, tools, and fire. My inspiration surged and for the first time in my life I didn’t feel like just dabbling in an art form, as I usually did. Instead I felt called to commit to learning and developing my skillset… so, I did just that! I enrolled in an intensive program and received my Bench Jeweler Certification, then went on to work as a Production Jeweler for a major brand. Then I started to draw my own designs, much like I had as a kid, but this time I was able to translate those ideas into the tangible. I was hooked. I would get home from my 9-5 where I constructed jewelry designed by someone else all day, then I’d work for another 3-4 hours on my own jewelry – was this what passion and alignment felt like?! People started asking if they could buy what I made, so I started officially creating and selling jewelry as Made in Orbit in 2018. For a while it was my dream to be a full-time jeweler, but after a bout of self-reflection and the decision to apply to graduate school, my priorities shifted. As those priorities shifted, the way I engaged with metal and stone also shifted and I found myself focusing less on designing things and more on creative play and intuition… something I like to call “creation meditation.” I still make custom pieces and update my website with new inventory sporadically but these days, I more honor the ebb and flow of my creative urges and create when it feels right. My professional trajectory has taken me in another direction…

I am currently the Director of Programs at Art from Ashes, a youth-serving arts nonprofit. I got involved with the organization as an intern in my final semester, fell in love with the mission and work, and ended up accepting a full-time position upon graduation. Art from Ashes provides youth aged 12-24 with creative empowerment workshops that utilize spoken word, poetry, art, and intuition as vehicles for expression, connection, transformation, and the amplification of young voices. We honor that tapping into creativity is cathartic and healing and we invite youth to express, through that creativity, what might be difficult to capture in regular language or conversation. We believe that everyone is a creative genius capable of accessing their subconscious, learning more about themself, shifting their perceptions, writing and/or re-writing their own narrative and thus, transforming their life. Our programming and workshop spaces are unique in that all we expect of participants is to show up as themselves: unfiltered, unedited, and uncensored. The only rule is respect. Youth respond to writing prompts in just 3 minutes, so that there is no time for over-thinking, self-editing, or worrying about the final product. There is no right or wrong – we honor that whatever is intuitively translated onto paper is subconscious poetry that tells a story. Stepping into vulnerability to share those stories on the microphone and to hear others tell theirs helps build bravery, compassion, empathy, and confidence in voice/self as well as connection to others. I think this nature of our programming sets us apart from a lot of other initiatives and organizations. In a society driven by success, results, perceived worth, and skill acquisition/mastery, we are simply holding a space for creative exploration where youth are seen and heard as they are. Everyone always says that youth are the future, but society (policy, politics, and general attitudes) tends to discredit their thoughts, their opinions, their struggle, and their resilience, ultimately silencing and disempowering them. I’m proud to work at an organization that flips that script through art and creativity.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Thinking outside of the box, appreciating the depth and magic of the seemingly ordinary, and embracing human connection and collaboration.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Personally and internally, my goal is simply to continue learning, growing, and expanding in a creative sense. For me, creativity transcends a hobby or a job – it’s more of a lifestyle and it informs how I move through this life. Art has been an integral facet of my ever-shifting journey and personal development, so I am excited for that path to keep unfolding.

Outwardly, my goal is to play a small part in bettering humanity through arts exposure, accessibility, and advocacy. That sounds so big and bold… but art truly has the capacities to heal, strengthen, and celebrate individuals and communities. It inspires, sparks dialogue, and tells stories. It connects people to themselves, to others, and to the past, present, and future. It keeps people alive, in both literal and abstract capacities. I look forward to continuing to explore all the ways I can facilitate people’s connection to their own creativity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artfromashes.org/ www.madeinorbitjewelry.com
• Instagram: @afaphoenix / @madeinorbit