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

Sally, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My learning curve for any given skill is a long and gradual slope but I am so eager to learn new things. This often creates frustration within me. But with age I am learning to trust that finding one’s own style or voice will happen with lots of thoughtful practice.
I’ve always loved to dance, like many young kids do. But in my late twenties I found a dance teacher (Laurie De Vito) who was able to teach the foundational skills that gave me the ability to express myself. It sounds like a very simple formula. And to some degree it is. But like many things, luck and perseverance are factors we can’t predict. I think one important discovery I made was assessing that dedicating time to learning something was an investment in yourself. If you feel the reward of that investment is exponential, meaning you value the growth as way more than what you put in, then perseverance comes much easier.
I don’t think I could speed up my learning process but I could enjoy the time more. So much of the desire to learn becomes the focus which is so important and necessary but it can be an obstacle to experiencing the moment. There’s no graduation ceremony after four years. Every dance class is a mini graduation ceremony so we should relish in the moments when we get out on the dance floor and say to ourselves “Hey! I learned something today!”
Changing our perspective even just as an exercise is a great way to expand our thought bubbles!

Sally, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi. My name is Sally. I don’t have a brand, product line, service or a social media presence. Currently, I am a mom and a dancer. I began dancing as an adult. I dance for choreographer Laurie De Vito (https://www.lauriedevito.com/).
I have many other interests that I have pursued intensely at different points in my creative life. Some of those interests include sewing, spinning vinyl records, creating electronic music and snowboarding/skating.
As a very average middle aged person living in a technologically new age, my message is to value the time we spend in person with others. In my view, we are entering an era of extreme cultural divide. Let the arts be a guide for mixing it up. By interacting with a diverse pool of ideologies, crossing paths in real time, we can embrace the moments of our physical humanity in a world where virtual identities are becoming the social and political arbiters.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are so many benefits to a creative life. For me, getting in the “zone” or “flow” is the first and foremost rewarding aspect. When I am very focused on something, could be any given task, not just art per se, could be cleaning or gardening, I feel connected. In dance I feel connected to the music and my body. The reward of feeling connected this way is immeasurable. It’s just a sense of balance within.
And from this feeling of balance I am open to the second reward of being part of a group with other people who share similar interests. As a naturally shy person, dancing allows me to say something without words and express the complexity of my feelings. I encourage everyone to take dance class. Besides the obvious health benefits, it is a place where people get together and you don’t have to say a word! Also it’s one of the most effective ways to support dance.

In my youth I saw the classroom setting as a place of stress, a work hard ethos of bettering one self and trying to stand out in a crowd. Now I see the classroom as a place where we get together and be vulnerable about what we know and don’t know. I get happy someone else likes what I like and sees what I see!
A shared interest in the arts is an incredible way to get together with others because it can be a safe place that puts subjects like religion or politics aside, or gives a voice to it. It’s amazing how much I learn from experiencing art I don’t necessarily like!

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

I would love for non-creatives (although I don’t believe there is such a thing as a non-creative) to understand that there is an artistic spark in every person. We are all crafters in a way.
For the last four months I have been “crafting” a new schedule for my kids. From figuring out how to minimize commute times to scheduling numerous afterschool activities. There is artistry in everything we do. Often we can’t see the artistry in our day to day. But sometimes gradually in a process there is a moment when we get step back and see the beauty in progress!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sallykismet

Image Credits

Rosalie O’Conner
Laurie De Vito