We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikki Sobak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nikki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve always known I was creative and enjoyed making beautiful pieces of work, it was just recently when I realized I could mix healing/recovery with art. Last year I chose to go back to school to pursue a masters degree in Art Therapy, so I can utilize my creativity and the ability that comes naturally to me to help others. Mixing these together helps me to do something I love that feels purposeful and meaningful.

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.

Since I was in middle school I followed my creativity on and off for years, I would paint for 6 months and then just halt to pursue some other endeavor. I’ve also seen a therapist since I was 18, that has inspired me a long the way. I had met an art therapist at my last serving job and found it to be intriguing. I’ve also always followed artists on social media and admired that they were able to do their craft full time so as far as career wise, all of this wound up with the decision of moving forward as an Art Therapist. For my own path. I always hated my early artwork and knew I needed a mentor, but during the process of making the art, I felt calm and at ease. It’s been one of the only things that calms my anxiety, brings peace and soothes me, there are only a few other things that bring me to that similar space. Why I didn’t follow this before, I have no idea, but I’m excited to be following this and creating something for myself and others that I haven’t experienced before. It all feels new, which can be scary and intimidating, but the further I follow the path, the more confident I become that this is what I want to do. Recently while being in my first and second semester of college, I’ve taken drawing I, drawing II, design I and painting I. I’ve been able to get into that peaceful state and make pieces now that I enjoy and feel true to myself and my heart. The only tough challenge is having deadlines for creativity, I’m used to making things and letting them just form themselves, but having a deadline pushes my skillset more than it proves if I can heal while making work. Currently I paint in oils, acrylic, and draw in pastels, and colored pencils. I create surreal, memory/dreamlike work. A ton of color, mixed with the feeling of being safe, or in a dream of some sort. As I go on, I’d like to sell my work and do my own side projects outside of being an Art Therapist. So far I’ve worked with my professor with teaching 2 classes of high school students, I received a small scholarship for that and now I’m being nominated for an award from that same professor. Everything that has come from this pursuit has shown to be fruitful so I’m excited to keep watching it unfold.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is a special question because as creatives there are a ton of negatives we face and hear, as far as career/money goes. I’ve had to come to learn that I can create an income based on doing what I love. Beyond that, just dealing with the everyday of building something you love, you really can’t slack off or treat it as a hobby, where in my past I thought if I made one piece a week, I would instantly be able to be a full time artist. I’m learning the value of true hard work, but allowing that process to be beautiful, unique and meaningful. Just because the work is hard it doesn’t have to be daunting or heavy. I allow myself to follow my education for my creative career, and reassure myself along the way that this is real, it’s something substantial and that I’ve always been able to make something out of nothing.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My true goal is to never be in a space where I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing , ever again. After all the random things I followed growing up, I created confusion for myself by not just choosing to do something and dedicate myself to it. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I got to follow a bunch of fun paths, find myself on the way and now I get to value dedication, where as before I didn’t know what that looked like, or what it meant.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/fleurdivinart
• Other: [email protected]