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

Raven, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I really like to feel comfortable and stable and as a result tend to not take many risks. I was a bookseller for seven years, and one day, I got so frustrated with my job. It felt like I was in the minority of people who cared about getting the job done, and it always made it feel like so much more work. There were many things about that job that I liked, but on the other hand, there were many things about that job that added stress that bled into my personal life. So, I started looking for other jobs. I told myself I was “casually” applying for jobs, but not desperate. I wasn’t going to leave a job that I was good at and comfortable in unless I was positive that I would be upgrading my quality of life in doing so.

After a few months of keeping an eye on the job boards, my jaw dropped when I saw a posting for a management position at one of my favorite small business’s in town. I applied so fast and followed up the next day. I was offered the job within the week and immediately accepted. It started out great and felt exactly as I had imagined it would. Then, things started to change and the vibes tanked. This position ended up being worse than the job that I had left behind. It destroyed my confidence and made me constantly question the skills I had spent years honing. Long story short, I was fired five months after I started for seemingly no reason, only to find out later that the business closed down a few months later.

I was devastated, and I wished constantly that I had never left my bookselling job. I felt so stupid for leaving a job that wasn’t that bad all the time. I took a risk, and I got the worse case scenario. During this time, my boyfriend had given me a watercolor set he wasn’t using. When I started painting, I wasn’t thinking about anything other than the little shapes I saw in the varying shades of my subject. My mind wasn’t blank, necessarily, but it felt tranquil at least. That slowly transitioned into painting pet portraits, and looking at pets for hours at a time is inherently good.

I think this was the first time I took a big risk and had it not turn out so great, but now I know that even if things don’t go the way I wanted them to, I’ll bounce back in time. Those months reminded me why I’m so grateful to be able to use my creativity as a way of centering myself.

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’m Raven Stone, and at this point, I pride myself on identifying as a creative, plain and simple. There are so many creative outlets that I enjoy, it’s impossible to view myself as one thing. I’m a singer/songwriter, a content creator, a painter, a writer. I consider curating playlists on Spotify as one of my creative outlets. It’s all freeing.

In 2020, I started a TikTok account that ended up building a huge community of Little House on the Prairie fans, evolving into a community for lovers of pop culture and entertainment. This experience really helped me define who I was to myself and who I wanted to be to others. It was so awesome to be the point of contact for so many discussions and laughter. This will always be a favorite way for me to connect and engage with what often feels like an unapproachable world.

Outside of TikTok, I love making music. I love anything that has to do with music, honestly. I’m always listening to it, finding inspiration, discovering new favorites, making those playlists. I’m happy that I started writing music when I was in high school because I’ve been able to spend my 20s learning how to use my voice and express myself through my lyrics. Recently, I began doing custom watercolor pet portraits through my website, and it has been such a fun and mindful way to spend my time.

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

Being able to have a conversation with whatever I create in reference to my mental health. Counseling, and being mindful in general, have really helped me listen to my instincts, my emotions, and my thoughts, and have a better understanding of where they’re coming from. When I work on a song, my thought process shifts from my standard stream of consciousness into something a bit more whimsical and interpretive. When I’m done, whatever song comes out always helps me feel my emotions, and serves as a sort of checkpoint with where I’m at mentally.
Same thing while I’m painting. I get so focused on what I’m doing, that the busyness of my mind slows down, and different feelings and thoughts are able to fill that space. Being creative, whether it’s painting, making music, making content, or writing stories really helps me feel well rounded in who I am at my core.

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

My primary mission is to do as much of what makes me happy as I can. Some of this is based in my creativity, some of it is based in doing absolutely nothing, but at the end of the day, I’m happiest when I’m connected. Creativity connects people more than anything. We bond over shared love of movies and literature and music and art and develop our own communities. I’m in the community for hardcore fans of the tv show ‘Yellowjackets’ (No! I will not shut up about Yellowjackets!) and it is so fun to read theories and talk about our favorite characters. Here’s a piece of art that a group of people have made, and now there are thousands of people that are connecting over it. I just think it’s really special when something like that happens. Even if it were only five people that connected over what I create, they are connections that wouldn’t have been made if it weren’t for the shared interest in the art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mrravenstone.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrravenstone/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raven-weil-b72518303