Creative Space: Chickle De La Rosa

Creative Space: Chickle De La Rosa

What is your ideal work routine? What does a good day look like?

Some days are brighter than others and some days are just what they are. When I create something that has value to me, my hope is they provide value to others as well, and if not, it matters just as much. 

I have always been the biggest procrastinator, continually extending time, coming up with hundreds of excuses, simply because I want to do really good work, but that isn’t always the case. I learned however that whether we fail or succeed, no matter how much time we spend on our craft, that time is never wasted. 

What does your space look like? How do you make it personal?

My creative space consists of interactions with other artists, brainstorming, and doing shoots together whenever possible. There’s this chair I sit on by the veranda where I write songs with my ukulele or just bask in the sun with my dog overlooking the trees and mountains.

In the household where I live, every space is shared, the only thing that I get to occupy by myself is my bedroom. I made some of my favorite art in that small space of mine. 

Then there are days when I find inspiration in the small details, the small world I create inside my head when I listen to songs, the specific seat I sit on at cafes, or the blue sky in between the clouds, my space doesn’t always have to be special, just as long as I’m able to create within them.

What activities help you get into the “flow”?

It’s important for me to get food in my system before working on something. A few months ago, I started intuitive eating where I listen to my body and be more mindful of what I consume. It has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. 

I turned to making my own meals before working and preparing something that will keep me working like coffee or snack bowls. A good stretch or walk before, during and after also helps.

For days when you lack drive/motivation, how do you get unstuck?

When darker days pay a visit, I normally binge-watch videos and read stories of creators who inspire me. I make time to reflect on my progress and try to reset my creative process. I also spend a good time entertaining myself and exploring other mediums. 

When I get stuck, I always think about how these idle times are also part of the process.

I have to trust every single moment of having the opportunity to take a break.

What is your biggest struggle right now?

Society tells you to get up in the morning, find a job, get married, have kids, retire as early as you can so you can go on that well-earned vacation.

It’s only been a year after I graduated from college, some people expected me to get an office job immediately. Instead, I went the other way, I took a gap year, taking as much time to get to know myself outside of the deadlines and expectations, collaborated with countless people, lived through many nights of creating and reflecting and to be honest, it’s a year I shall never be ashamed of.

Any day you spend getting to know yourself is something you should never be ashamed of, but in between those days, when people start questioning what you’re doing with your life, you start questioning your values too. 

Above all else, when things get rocky inside my head, I think about this line from one of my former editor-in-chief (Heather Pulido) in my university publication, “If you do not know where you want to be, think about where you don’t want to be.” 

What lesson did you learn recently that you would like to pass on to others?

Life is never a race. You can learn an instrument, speak a new language in your later years, pursue your dreams one after another. Photography taught me that the more patient you are at something, the more valuable it becomes and you will take a hundred more steps, you will do more, fail more in this lifetime but what matters is being here and now.

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Story and photos by Chickle De La Rosa
To learn more, follow her on Instagram and see her work

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