Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sebila Kratovac. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sebila, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I believe that we intuitively know how to express ourselves, and each of us has a unique way of expressing what wants to come to light into the physical world. We are naturally drawn to certain kinds of colors, creative tools, music, dancing, cultures, landscapes, sounds…and with life experience, we develop our own ways of expression. We also seek out inspiration through classes, apprenticeships, tutorials, books, etc. to help us unearth what wants to come out from the inside.

My journey has been a mixture of creating my own tools and style, being influenced by other incredible artists and nature, taking classes, exploring the world and life, experimenting, improvising, starting and stopping…essentially life has been my greatest teacher and illness the harshest but most powerful one. I don’t really think I could have sped up the learning process although I do think that having mentors and people who encourage us, helps us learn and gain confidence more quickly. However, not everyone is meant to have a lot of help on the creative journey for one reason or another. I have embraced doing things on my own and have also cherished encouragement and mentorship on the way.

A lot of my creative breakthroughs come from struggling to express myself and learning that it is safe to be seen and heard by others. Crippling fear and anxiety has been a part of a lot of my life and there were many times when I wanted to express myself but my voice would fail me or I would completely blank out on what I was about to do. A lot of healing came from understanding my limitations, honoring my comfort level, and forgiving myself for not being able to express myself when I wanted to and moving on from each painful experience. Never giving up on myself and on how I want to feel has also been a driving force in my life.

I think artists have to be so brave to be vulnerable, to expose things that no one wants to see in themselves, sometimes things lurking in the shadow of our psyche. Since we can’t change how others feel about us when they see our art, the only way is to change the way we think about being judged. Many people have their own reasons for judging us and they may be struggling with their own vulnerability issues that are fueling their criticism. I believe the greatest change and growth comes when we don’t think of the outcome of our creativity and just express ourselves to the fullest.

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 see my work as a way to process my life experiences and moments in time. For me, creative expression is essentially a way of life: healing, growing, loving, enjoying – living life to the fullest! The way I express these things is through sound, visual art, sculpture, performance, movement, video, poetry, and storytelling. My work could be as simple as writing a poem or as complex as creating a whole live performance.

In my art, I work a lot with frequencies of light and sound, vivid colors, expressions of emotion, and impressions and communications with the natural world. I also explore human relationships, our great capacity to love, and the feminine aspect of human energy. For a long time, I have been putting images to poetry (or I don’t even know what to call these short writings that I do). I have also made a lot of written and improvised music reminiscent of prayers. In the future I would love to work on fairy tale-like performances that encompass live music, sculpture/puppetry, movement, visual arts and much more.

For me, art and creative expression is a way for humans to heal and thrive through the generations. In the past, we have danced to the earth’s drumbeat, feeling it throughout our bodies, synchronizing to the earth’s vibration. We have sang and painted on rocks, on clothing, on jewelry, carpets, household utensils, the earth. We have moved our creative life energy, oxygenating our blood so that we can spiritually and physically heal. We have done this for thousands of years but have recently forgotten why and how creative expression helps us live fully.

Another aspect of healing through creative expression is breaking our physical and mental boundaries of what we think is possible for us and our world. Through creative expression, we are empowered and we become stronger on all levels of our being. We are able to find our center, no matter what crazy things are happening around us. Not that we become disconnected from the outside world and its ups and downs – on the contrary, we are able to experience the unpleasant things that are happening around us without making ourselves sick. There is a fine line when it comes to how much energy we give to something that is happening in the world. We have to develop this energetic balance in life because if we can’t keep our health, we can’t help others in any way.

My greatest desire is to express the beauty of life and infuse the energy of love into everything I do. My art also brings in elements of magic, wonder, sacredness of life and nature, and the elemental, spiritual, and imaginal worlds. All of these aspects of humanity are interwoven in the fabric I am creating. Even if my work sometimes shows vulnerability, sadness, and the darker side of life, I feel that I am helping create a more beautiful word, at least through my own eyes. Maybe others will find beauty in what I do and will be inspired to create their own enchanted world.

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

My drive comes from my desire to create even with many internal and external experiences of creative blocks. I believe that moving creative energy in our body helps us express ourselves creatively and, in my work, I try to find ways to always move this creative energy. I also want to help other people express themselves creatively and remove any obstacles that are keeping them from this full expression. I help people liberate their creative energy flow using different tools such as movement (dance, yoga, spontaneous movement), theatre/performance, improvisation, creative prompts (singing, drawing, etc.), and connecting with the natural world, each other, and the divine.

As humans, we have different ways of being in the world and experiencing it. What works for one person to open up the creative flow, doesn’t work at all for another. Life is a journey of exploring who we are, what we desire, and what makes us tick. That’s why it is important to use many different tools holistically so that each of us can find our own way to creative flow.

I am slowly letting go of the notion that I am getting to some destination with my art. I used to think that I would finally reach a point where my art would mature and I would be able to call it my signature style but my artwork keeps changing and developing. I don’t have the goal of creating perfect artwork…my work is not polished – sometimes it is very raw – but I keep on walking, experiencing, always getting inspired by nature, life, and love I feel all around me.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As a child, I knew that I was a creative person but it was difficult for me to express myself on many levels. I always felt somehow restricted internally – like being locked in a cage I didn’t know how to get out of. I was also getting a lot of discouraging feedback from people around me – mainly teachers and authority figures. I thought, how can I be so passionate about making creative work yet be so “bad” at it that people are actually discouraging me from doing it? This did not make any sense to me.

I had to work on myself for many years to let go of these stifling voices in order to create again, slowly but surely, and to share my art with others. I still get anxious, especially when it comes to live performance-based work. This work takes a lot of energy and stamina, as well as being okay with being seen and showing vulnerability. But, any limitations can be overcome when we can channel creative energy rather than just dispense it out of us because we feel like we have something to prove to our audience, leaving us drained and unable to express ourselves fully.

More recently, I was faced with yet another seeming roadblock to creative expression. I was taking classes in movement and performance and was having a lot of trouble getting on stage without hyperventilating and feeling like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I thought, “this is not for me if I can’t even go up there and face my fear with courage.” Very tough self-talk, looking back at it! I then decided to not care what others think and to do the performance my own way. Once I focused on my character, bringing her out into the world through myself, I wasn’t even nervous and was able to perform and have fun at the same time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.howltolove.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howltolove/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebila-kratovac/