We were lucky to catch up with Priscilla Call Essert recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Priscilla, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I was the fourth child of 5 and was wedged between extremely “needy” siblings. I felt quite invisible until I found the flute. In fourth grade, I quite easily made a sound on the flute and quickly began making music and found myself in a dialogue with folks without needing words. Through music, I found my voice and a way to express myself that literally saved my life and lead me in a direction I wouldn’t have been prohibited from going if it hadn’t been about the music. I was so lucky!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began making music in Connecticut and went to Boston and New York where. I trained as a classical artist and made connections that were supposed to catapult me to the “next level”. They did. However, when I landed in the Mexico City Philharmonic, I realized that there was so much more I wanted than a full-time career in an orchestra. Teaching, recording, cooking, mentoring, painting, and writing became more and more important to me and the more I immersed myself in them, the better I was in my job. It was in Mexico City that I began to understand that my pathway to creativity was not going to be found in one discipline. It was an amazing turning point and – I believe to this day – a realization that saved my life.

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

For years, whether in New York, Mexico, San Francisco or now in the very rural town I call home, creativity has been everywhere. I actually find that the further I travel from a “cultural mecca’, the closer I get to the bones of creative communities. In the journey, I have learned that – while playing in Carnegie Hall and other major venues entertains and inspires – it is in the unvarnished backrooms of our personal spaces where we set the stage for amateurs to work with professionals where we learn our differences (skills vary), our commonality (we love communicating through music and seek to connect, perfect and connect), and in a rural setting you learn to build a tribe….something that can get lost when only creating in big venues,…Society needs to embrace its local artist and local artist need to embrace their local communities in an intimate way so bridges can be built and understanding can be cultivated. i do this monthly and have done so for years. When. you embrace amateurs, you build trust and invested parties who become advocates and then they become the folks who broaden the roots of commitment and understanding in the broader community. I have seen this in play for many years.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

This question caught my attention. I don’t believe in non-creatives—no more than I believe in tone-deafness or that there are people who can’t make music. While many folks won’t become the next Yo Yo Ma , I do believe that all people have music in them. More generally, I believe that we all possess and can access creativity.

For years, I thought my creativity resided specifically in my achievements and accomplishments as a flutist. When life threw me a curve ball and I had to retreat from my professional music activities, the creative energy flowed in other ways: I wrote a book, I began exploring culinary traditions, moved into urban farming… anything where i could channel my creative juices while taking care of the more routine parts of life.

I think non-creatives struggle with thinking they are non-creatives…They are worshiping those around them rather than gaining inspiration and going within to find their creative source,

I have re=-invented myself so many times, and the common thread is the creative spirit I have and how it helps me create magic wherever I find myself,

Image Credits
All photos were taken by friends. No credits needed,